


The Obliteration of Emily Junk

by CCsnow



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Decisions, Destiny, F/F, Family, Gen, Love, Multi, Romance, Science Fiction, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-10 16:58:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4399976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CCsnow/pseuds/CCsnow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma M. Beale accidentally got transported 30 years back in time. After a tiny gesture of hers caused her moms to have a different experience of an event, she started “disappearing” part by part. Now, she has to play matchmaker on Beca and Chloe to put things back on track and secure her existence – under the alias “Emily Junk.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative teams behind the Pitch Perfect films.) Based on that Tumblr prompt where Emily travels back in time and uses the surname "Junk" so Beca and Chloe wouldn't in any way recognize her... I'm taking this opportunity to thank you nerds for the wonderful feedback on my other BeChloe multichapt With One Note. For those patiently waiting for Perfect Days to evolve into a multichapt, the cards still aren't in my favor yet. The plot line still sucks big time, ahaha.
> 
> I do hope you like this one. I'm going to make it aca-awesome for you Bhloe weirdos. Please leave reviews, please. Tell me what you think. They will help me improve as a writer. Thanks!

**The Obliteration of Emily Junk**

**1: Prologue**

“It was crazy. It took an NDE for me to snap into the fact that I have been madly in love with my wife since she barged into my shower stall naked back in college.” Beca shakes her head slightly – her gentle curls wiggling with her anxiety. “God, this is too cheesy. I’m sorry. Chloe usually does all the speeches.”

“And that’s why it is rightful that you do this one for a change,” Chloe, dressed in a blue floral dress, teases from behind, causing a short laugh from the audience. Beca feels her knees starting to tremble and falls silent for a second. Chloe gets up from her seat and stands beside her nervous wife, taking her clammy hand into her own. “And because, Beca magically lost her tongue, I’ll be finishing this gratitude sp-,”

“No, no. I’m fine. I can do it,” she tells her before regaining composure and heaving a breath. It is awful enough that she let Chloe force her into wearing something other than jeans or slacks; the skirt she is wearing doesn’t have a pocket she can shove her numb hands in. “I’ll d-do it. It’s our 20th wedding anniversary, and our story’s always worth the tell. At one time or another, you probably have heard the story of how Chloe and I snapped out of pretense and realized that we should’ve been dating already, but I will still re-live the experience as I re-narrate it to you guys tonight.”

Beca realizes that Chloe is still standing beside her, her soft hands constantly warming hers – much to her delight. “It was during this _‘a cappella only’_ party that the Trebles hosted on our senior year. It was still early, but there was already too much alcohol and too much dancing. Chloe Beale here, decided to go for a splash in the pool, six Tequila shots in-,”

“Seven, actually,” Chloe playfully corrects her as she leans onto her wife.

Beca shoots her an amused look of disbelief shortly before continuing. “Seven Tequila shots in… And we all know that alcohol and swimming are a recipe for disaster… and it was, on that night. I saw her weakly struggling to stay afloat and shouting that she couldn’t breathe well. I dropped my cup spot on and dived into the pool to pull Chloe out. She wasn’t breathing and she barely had a pulse. I blew two breaths into her mouth and thank goodness her chest started rising and falling again. I called her name loud and when her electric blue eyes finally showed, I pulled her up into a tight hug – crying, repeatedly whispering into her ears: I need your-,”

“I need your heart to keep beating so that mine will,” Chloe finishes the quote as Beca says it. “And to think, everyone seems to believe that I’m the cheesy one in this relationship,” she teases again. “Our dearest family and friends, we couldn’t be more thankful enough that you all came here tonight to celebrate with us our crystal anniversary. I know that we all have our personal lives, and that Barden is a lot of miles away for some of you, but you are here and that’s what matters.”

“Oh you are so dead,” Patty Allen whispers mockingly to Emma – who is standing stiff from the sea of people.

“I thought we were just hanging out for some nostalgia again! If I knew that the anniversary was the reason for this visit to Barden, I would’ve gotten them something!” She says in her defense. She finally realizes why Chloe seemed a little cold to her that morning.

“Emma, I love you. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re the dumbest person alive,” Patty says nonchalantly. “They did exactly the same things (and probably invited the exact same people) on their 10th year: contacting their batch of the Bellas including my mother and Aunt Aubrey, inviting Aunt Chloe’s favorite students and faculty members from her school camp, inviting Aunt Beca’s officemates from the firm, holding the event here at the Barden Auditorium, telling that same story of your mom saving the other from drowning, and when Aunt Chloe’s done with her speech about the positivity of life, she’ll probably orient us about the mobile bar, the band, bla bla bla-,”

“It’s odd that you know more about my parents than I do,” Emma shoots at her.

“And you know more about my parents than I do, Em,” Patty shoots back. “The story changes every time my mom would tell it. Plus, it changes to a whole new level if it comes from Dad. There was a version I remember where Dad met Mom at an underground orgy.”

Emma cracks a good laugh which she tries to rein in since Chloe is still speaking to the audience. “My mom said they thought of naming you _‘Pumper’_ because they both wanted you to have a part of their names.”

“Whatever, Beale,” Patty huffs as she licks the chocolate off her fingers. “You’re still the dumbest person alive for forgetting to get your moms something for their 20th anniversary.”

“Hah! But I can sort this out!” The younger girl snaps with bright eyes. “I’ll go to them and greet them and give them my presents and tell them that it was all just an act to make them think they got a monkey for a daughter. I mean, their lovely child could never forget their anniversary!”

“But you did, Beale.”

Chloe cracks yet another joke that makes the rest of the audience roar. “Yes, thank goodness my humor isn’t as rusty as Beca’s. Okay everyone, I won’t make it any longer. Again, thank you for being here with us today. There’s food and a mobile bar at that corner. Oh, and enjoy the jazz band! The dance floor’s for everyone’s pleasure. Good evening.”

A warm applause lights up the atmosphere and during the uproar of appreciation, Emma pulls Patty into the maze of crowd towards the exit.

“Woah there! Where are you two turd burgers going?” Amy inquires as she watches her daughter and her best friend sprint across the hall.

“Bathroom!” The two says in unison without even turning their heads to meet Amy.

It is a tricky maze getting out of Barden’s gates. They have been to the place only twice so they really don’t have a clue of the vicinity. Emma is so decided about getting her parents a last minute gift to cover up her clumsy tracks these past few days. Bummed that she doesn’t get to enjoy the buffet at this very hour, Patty keeps on reminding Emma of how bad of an idea it is, to blindly roam around the town.

“I need to get them something, Patty!” Emma yells as they pause at a lamp post along an empty street. She starts pacing back and forth, her breathing getting a little frisky in pattern; Patty leans against the post trying to catch her breath. “I need to give my moms some gifts. They’ve been the best parents to me, and they’ve been on a wonderful marriage ever since, a-and I need to thank them for always fighting for our family… for me.”

Patty notices the rise in her best friend’s anxiety. “Alright there, Em. You need to calm down. We don’t have your inhaler here. As soon as we find any shop, we’ll get simple gifts for your moms, okay? Just, just stop pacing and breathe.”

Fortunately, it isn’t long before they spot an old record shop from the line of convenient stores in the commercial area. Emma’s eyes glisten as she enters the shop and scans her eyes on the rich collection of vinyl tracks. “Patty, we hit the motherlode!”

“This place smells like my grandmother from Tasmania. Why are you so happy? Enlighten me, please,” Patty mocks with zero excitement in her veins.

“Mom has a thing for old records. She said she used to stack CDs at the university radio station with Uncle Jesse way back in college.” Emma starts browsing through the aisles.

“That’s no shocker. Aunt Chloe owns a school for music. It just follows th-,”

“Your Aunt Beca, not your Aunt Chloe,” she corrects her. “Mom and Mumsy both love music, but way back when, there was a certain ring to the ears when you hear the name Beca Mitchell.”

“I get that she taught you everything you know about DJ-ing-,”

“No, Patty, you don’t get it. Mom always wanted to be a music producer. Gramps kind of hated it about her, but when she saw Mom’s real talent, he let her anyway,” explains Emma as she flips through a stack of records at the 90’s section.

Patty scrunches her nose as she tries to make sense of the puzzle pieces. She can’t comprehend how a so-claimed music prodigy can just leave the arts and enter clerical office work where you sit on a cushioned chair for eight hours and that’s it.

“Finally!” Emma screams as she held a vinyl of _‘Else the Tune’_ by _North Dour_. “Mom has been looking for this everywhere!”

“Cool, now what are you getting for Aunt Chloe?”

The younger girl scratches her head. “That we have yet to know.”

Patty raises an eyebrow and sighs. She hopes to get back to the party before food actually runs out.

“Although, I have no idea how much this one costs.” Emma scanned the record she was holding. “No price tags anyw-,”

“This shop is older than Tasmania itself! How do you expect sticky price tags on all these records?!” Patty grabs the vinyl from Emma. “I’ll ask the lady at the counter.”

Alone, Emma walks a little further around the shop – wandering her eyes at the extended library above her. It is indeed rather an old shop – probably founded in the 1920’s, and has survived throughout the change of cultures: the gingham that embraces the counters retains the 40’s, the psychedelic prints on the walls represent the decade of the 60’s, and the black lights and a few neon lights stay where the 90’s left off . There’s this shelf bar that has lots of bracelets stapled onto it – Aztec mostly, but they are all wrapped up in stationary dust that threatens to trigger Emma’s asthma… except for one. The last ring bracelet at the pole is made of a high-class wood, most likely of Narra and Molave, holding about a quarter inch in width, and some form of ancient alphabet inscribed in pale cyan. It would’ve given off the idea of its material being Azurite if it weren’t for the strong fluorescence that it sports against the black lights.

Emma detaches it from the pole to admire its complexity.

“This one’s a hundred and twenty, tall person,” Patty says as she offers the vinyl back to Emma.

“What?! I only have a hundred in my pocket! That thing’s overpriced!”

“Hey, I don’t make the prices here.”

Emma stares at her best friend – waiting for her to say something. “Patty, I only have a hundred.”

“Well what do you want me to do?!”

At the worst of luck, Emma shoots a familiar look in her eyes. The other girl grunts. “I swear, you would perish without my presence,” she jokes as she pulled a twenty from her pocket.

Emma takes the bill and pays for the vinyl at the counter. “Hey, do you also sell these bracelets that hang around?” She holds out the one she got from the shelf.

“If you got that from one of the shelves here, you can have it,” the lady says. “Those things make this shop tougher to dust off.”

Emma smiles and thanks the lady before heading out with Patty.

“Hey, look at this bracelet I got for Mumsy.”

Patty grabs the bracelet and inspects it under the low light of the evening. “How long was I gone and you got to make a detour to a jewelry shop? And I thought you only had a hundred!”

Emma chuckles. “I got that from the same record store. It was a decoration from one of the shelves. I’m pretty sure the lady at the counter didn’t know how valuable this thing is. I mean, look at its materials! I can pawn this for a thousand bucks, for all we know!”

“Well, it is gorgeous. It’ll fit Aunt Chloe’s skin tone and eyes perfectly.”

“You’re really learned something from that fashion course you took last term,” compliments Emma.

“College is great, Em. Everything they teach you apparently comes in handy at one point or another.”

 “Yeah, I’m pretty nervous about it, actually. I start college next week. Everything happens so fast.”

They continue to walk back to Barden. Emma can’t resist fondling over the bracelet. Something about it draws her in. She tries it on her left wrist and is astonished by how well it fits. “Mumsy’s gonna love this one,” she remarks as they journey the side walk.

Suddenly, a bright light appears from the end of the road that is visible from their stance. It’s as if a fast-approaching car with super headlights is going their way. Emma holds out a hand over her squinted eyes. “I hate it when cars maximize their headlights. It’s too bright!”

“What is?” Patty inquires.

Emma points out right in front of them. “That one. The light. It’s getting closer.”

“Em?” Patty swears to herself that her best friend is just getting a little goofy as usual but she has no time for it as her hunger level has spiked already. “There’s no blinding light ahead, Em. Shake it off.”

“What do you mean there’s no blinding light?! It’s so damn bright!” For a second, Emma shuts her eyes completely to guard it from the light. When she tried to open it slowly, she could feel a strong afternoon wind and could hear the leaves rustling along the warm cement of the street.

It was a sunny afternoon at what she could make out as one of the Barden streets.

“Music! Drinking! Games! More drinking tonight! Don’t miss it!” A thick Australian tone greeted Emma.

“Aunt Amy?!” Emma yelled. Her Aunt Amy looked so spirited and… young.

“Aca-believe it! Are you my long lost niece from Perth? I’ve always known you were alive!” Fat Amy replied.

“What? No, no. I… it’s… It’s Em,” she shot back with pure confusion in her face.

“Right. Okay, whatever. Be at the Treble house tonight. It’ll be the biggest party of your life.” She handed Emma a flyer and took off.

Emma froze where she stood when she saw the date on the paper. It was the same month and the same date as the night of her moms’ anniversary gathering… _but 30 years ago._

 _O-M-aca-G,_ she whispered to herself. _I traveled back in time._


	2. Chloe Drowned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative teams behind the Pitch Perfect films.)

**2: Chloe Drowned**

"What do you mean there's water shortage?" Jesse exclaimed, tossing the report papers on the kitchen counter. "And it's only our house that's affected? This house?"

"Sir, you had us run the diagnostics on your pipelines yesterday, and my men found a couple of bad leaks. We had to cut the supply running to your vicinity this morning so we could prevent collateral damage."

"Then you should've told us yesterday. Why are we even discussing this shit?!" Jesse ran both his hands through his hair. "My Treble bros and I will be hosting this huge party tonight. A lot of people are gonna be here, lots of drinks, you, know, lots of stuff that's going to need water. Can't you postpone the repair for next week, or I don't know – some time convenient?"

"Sir, we cannot risk contaminating the whole system. The circulation here must stay isolated," the man explained.

Jesse shook his head. "No party tonight then, I guess. The Trebles just became the biggest dickheads in Barden history." He turned to the man who was fixing the scattered report files from the counter. "Thank you. You can go."

Jesse sat on a bean bag in the living room – his face buried in his hands.

"Funny how you just went through the five stages of grief in less than five minutes," Emma remarked as she approached the senior Treble. Her  _'sneaking'_  skills couldn't be more impressive. She smiled at the sight of her Uncle Jesse – her biggest partner in crime, and godfather.

Jesse looked up and furrowed his brows in confusion. "And you are?"

The girl suddenly remembered her status and decided it best that she lay low until she could figure out what was  _really_ going on. "No one… just one of the bartenders for tonight's party."

"Too bad, kiddo. I'm cancelling the whole thing. Apparently, there's no water supply in this house. Can't hold a party at a house with no H2O," he stood, preparing to leave. "I'll still pay the check in full, don't worry. You can tell that to your boss."

"No, wait!" Emma exclaimed before clearing her throat. "There must be some other place you could borrow or rent or, I don't know-,"

"Casa Bella!" Jesse exclaimed in his own lightbulb moment. "We can have it over at Casa Bella!"

"Casa B-, the Bellas' house?" Emma inquired.

"Great! You know the place!" Jesse gave the younger girl a slight pat on the back. "Tell your guys to go get ready. We'll be transferring everything to another venue," he instructed before leaving full of excitement.

 _It's so cool how a lot of things remained unchanged for a lot of years,_  Emma thought to herself as she smiled at her Uncle Jesse's goofiness and wits.

* * *

_[From Emma's Original Timeline...]_

"Hey, kiddo. The other campers are at the quad already. Why don't you join them?" Jesse tells Emma, who is scribbling on a notebook as she sits in a low-hanging treehouse.

"I'm the oldest camper here. I wouldn't be here if Mumsy didn't own the place. I think I'll do fine here in my treehouse – like I did on the last ten summers of my life," Emma replies blankly as she continues to scribble.

Jesse dusts off his  _'A-Camp-Pella'_  polo uniform. "Come on, now, Ems. You don't wanna miss out your charming Uncle Jesse on his first day as camp instructor. I'll be needing someone who knows this place all too well."

Emma peaks below and sees him wearing a smug smirk. "Someone like me? What for?"

"Pulling crazy hidden traps for everyone else around here – both instructors and students alike," he says in a low tone before throwing Emma a playful wink.

The teen grins and eventually climbs down with her notebook and pen. "So, you're substituting for Mom this season?" She inquires as she walks in the woods with Jesse.

"Yeah, Beca's got some extra hours she needs to fill in at the firm."

"Mmm, for the much awaited visit trip to Barden in a month?" Emma rolls her eyes at the thought of the  _'Barden visit,'_  for it is all that Beca and Chloe have been busy about when she tries to actually be with them.

"Yeah, kiddo! Are you excited for that?"

"Sure," Emma replies in low adjective.

 _Couldn't be more excited for the vacation that is apparently way more important than me,_  she thinks sarcastically to herself – remembering all the recent times she has been paid less attention to.

* * *

_[At the Trebles' party…]_

Since the Bellas changed their oath to something more sensible (not involving the Trebles and the wolves), the two biggest a cappella groups in Barden had learned to get along very well. Jesse was a bit edgy when he realized he wouldn't be speaking with Beca on the matter since she was on her new internship until evening, but was grateful when Chloe didn't give it a thought to allow the Treblemakers.

The venue got all prepped up in time, as soon as the night sky came, the music started, and people grabbed their own drinks.

Emma took off the white silk blouse that she wore originally for her moms' anniversary, revealing a rather loose white cotton crepe tank top that had light embroidery on it. She tied the sides at the back for a better fit and hijacked one of the Bella rooms (Stacie's to be specific) for a decent long skirt that would embed her in the crowd easily. It had to be her Aunt Stacie's closet since her height closely resembled her own.

Emma grinned upon figuring out that the other side of the place was  _Chloe-fied,_  then remembered her mom's stories of having Stacie as a roommate. It was simple, with a lot of blue decors around. On the wall above the headboard hung several Polaroid printouts of Chloe with the other Bellas… but mostly it was her and Beca. Emily smiled, remembering how Chloe had always shown great fondness over what it led to be her future wife. She had always admired her mothers for their astonishing love for each other; Emma wanted to love someone that great, and she promised herself that she will someday.

There was a special corner at the wall for candid photos of Beca wearing headphones while asleep, or creating a mix. This made Emma's lips curve into a shy smile; she suddenly missed her moms at the moment.

Then it hit her, – that she traveled 30 years back exactly to the day her moms allegedly had their  _'snapping moment.'_  The story of how Beca saved Chloe from almost drowning, and how it led from there… Emma realized how lucky she was to be able to get the chance to see the event herself. She was on the exact same party – and all she needed to do was stay by the pool area.

 _Not a lot of people gets to watch their parents fall in love,_ she thought – feeling content with herself. Whatever got her to travel back in time and how she could go back, she would worry after at least witnessing the pool story for herself.

The music turned louder as people already filled every corner of Casa Bella. Emma snuck out of Chloe and Stacie's room and tried to blend her way in all the way to the pool area. Despite the crowd, Emma felt a short chill against her arms and decided to go back up to Stacie's room to borrow the apricot shoal she saw lying on the Bella's bed earlier.

She was about to hurry up the staircase when she spotted a young Beca Mitchell approaching to her direction. "Hey, Beca!" Emma greeted as she approached and hurried up. There was an uneasy feeling in her gut about addressing her mother on a first name basis.

After winning three consecutive championships at the ICCA's, Beca still had not gotten used to the small fame she got on normal days. She gave a light nod at the tall perky girl as she passed by her, but she couldn't shake off the familiarity of her face. Beca furrowed her brows and turned her head back to the girl ascending the staircase. It wasn't long before she realized she was thrown off her balance when she took a blind step down. Beca ended up hurting her elbows and earning a scratch at one of her temples when her body rolled down the remaining steps.

"Beca!" Jesse yelled as she sprinted towards her. "Beca, you're bleeding!" He remarked when he saw a tiny trail of blood running down from her temple.

"Ow," was all Beca could utter.

Emma heard the loud stumble and Jesse's yell. She ran back down to make sure her mom was okay. "Are you okay, Beca? Oh god, you hit your head!"

"Calm down, I'm going to be fine," Beca assured her. "I'm… I'm feeling a little dizzy but I think I'll live."

Jesse and Emma helped her back to her feet. They let her sit on the nearest chair to compose herself. "I'll get some ice," said Jesse before he got off. Beca leaned on the table to rest her pounding head.

Emma heard the party music shut off abruptly, and there was a felt tension among the crowd. She heard a loud splash into the water, like someone literally dived into the pool.

"The pool… The pool!" Emma exclaimed. As soon as Jesse got back with a small pack of ice, Emma took off and ran over to the pool area. There she saw a hunky guy laying an unconscious Chloe Beale gently on the cold tarmac. They were both dripping wet. He was yelling Chloe's name before he decided to resuscitate her. When she woke up, everyone cheered loudly and the party music continued. Emma watched as the guy warmed Chloe with a towel and carried her out of the scene.

"Oh no," whispered Emma – who froze in her stance. "No, no, no. It was supposed to be Mom, not him!" Hadn't Beca fell down the staircase, she would've made it to the pool area just in time to see Chloe signaling for help… but she fell. She fell and hit her head, and now the famous pool story didn't happen.

"Damn it!" Emma angrily stomped a foot at the thought of missing the event by an inch. She walked back to Beca, who seemed a little more oriented than she was five minutes ago.

"What happened back there?" Beca asked Emma when she saw the tall girl sat with her.

Emma gulped nervously. "Chloe, she um, she almost drowned in the pool."

"CHLOE DROWNED?!" Beca shot up to her feet. "What?! Where is sh-,"

"She's fine, now. Don't worry," replied Emma as she assisted the senior Bella back to her seat. "Some Abercrombie guy went to her rescue a-and-,"

"Oh," uttered Beca as she rolled her eyes. "Tom, wasn't it? Of course."

"You know him?"

"He's been after Chloe for weeks now. I mean, I get that they used to have this short 'no strings attached' fling years ago, but… I don't know, lately he's been following Chloe like a dog. It's irritating," Beca huffed – folding her arms.

 _Mom on jealous mode is the cutest thing ever,_  Emma thought, smiling to herself.

"Sorry, what did you say your name was?"

Emma snapped. "I-, I didn't. It's Emm-," she remembered originating from a different timeline. "Mmmm-ily. Emily. Call me Emily." She thought it best not to freak anyone out with the fact that she came from the future (like anyone would actually believe that prompt, anyway).

"Well, Emily. Thanks for catering to me after my huge downfall," said Beca as she stood, "but I think I'm heading up to my room now. I don't feel like digging into this noise anymore."

"I'll walk with you!" Emily exclaimed with a smile.

Beca chuckled. "It's not that necessary, Emily, but thanks."

"I'm just gonna make sure you won't trip off again," insisted Emily – with a half smirk on her face.

"I guess a chaperone wouldn't hurt," Beca joked, realizing there was no stopping to the perky girl.

The two girls were walking along the hallway upstairs when Emily noticed that a certain gloom still lingered on Beca's face.

"I'm sure Chloe's not into Tom. She'll brush him off soon."

Beca raised a brow at what Emily just said. "I'm not sure I follow-,"

"If you ask her out, she'll still say yes," Emily spat bluntly.

"Woah there. I am not into Chloe Beale. I mean, she's my best friend, of course I like her, but I don't like, like her – like her, you know?" Beca ran a hand through her hair. "God, that didn't make a lot of sense. What is happening to me?"

Emily let out a short chuckle. "Come on. I can see the way you look at her."

 _I mean, I see the way you look at her 20 years from now,_  Emily thought in her head.

"This is crazy talk. I don't have a crush on my  _best friend._  Gosh, I don't even know you. I'm sorry. I-," Beca continued to walk to her room.

"So," said Beca calmly, "this is me." She pointed to the door, signaling to Emily that she must go.

Emily held the side rims of her skirt and fondled them nervously. "I'm sorry, Beca. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's nothing, really," said Beca. "I guess, I was just venting out some jitters and you were unfortunately here for it."

"Thanks… for, you know, walking with me all the way here." Beca keyed the door and got into her room.

Emily stood still, her eyes wide with worry. This wasn't in the  _Tales of the Almost-drowning Aftermath_  as told by her Mom and Mumsy. Everything was going the opposite direction… and all because of an altered history, – because  _she_  altered history.

 _I mess things up just by breathing,_  thought Emily as she craved to get out of the noisy atmosphere.


	3. Beca Versus Russo The Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative teams behind the Pitch Perfect films.) I've already betrayed my writing/posting schedule because of things that awkwardly come up every single day. I'll try to keep the pace up as long as I can. I'll finish this story no matter how long it might take me so.
> 
> When I first ran into the prompt idea for this story, I was completely appalled. I knew for myself that I would be one of the writers who would take on it. Other stories will pop up from the same prompt, and I considered it first hand when I was outlining this. It's the reason I'm making sure every chapter I write will be worth your time, and I know that I have a different story to tell you.
> 
> The only thing I ask in return is feedback. You may leave it on the review page of this story, or message me personally. Tell me what you think. If you didn't like a chapter or if you hated a character, you can tell me. The greatest gift any fan fiction writer can receive is constructive feedback. It's how we improve our material. =)

**3: Beca Versus Russo the Cat**

"Air. I need some air," Emily whispered as she desperately made her way out of the party. She stood anxious at the front lawn of Casa Bella focusing on her breathing. It was all her fault. She was the reason the pool story didn't happen and history had been changed. Emily knew time as a holy concept – one that was too complex for its unpredictable ripple effects. Emily feared the ripples – whatever they may be.

Her breathing got more ragged; she didn't exactly have her inhaler during the time travel. The party noise kept boring drills into her head. Emily started running in an attempt to get farther from the disturbance. Her clumsy self, unfortunately, had caused her to run into another person… literally. Before she knew it, Emily was stumbling and rolling along the pavement.

"Oh god, I am so so sorry, miss," the man quoted as he got up to his stance and rushed to Emily.

Emily shook her head lightly, then suddenly realized that her focus seemed better. "I'm… I'm fine, actually," she said as she returned to her balance by herself. She turned to see a dashing Benji in a smart casual attire.

"I swear I heard something crack," said Benji, admittedly worried about Emily. She thought about hearing a part of her body _'crack'_  too, but, well, the absence of bleeding and agonizing pain contradicted it.

"Really, I'm fine, I-…" Emily stared into Benji's apprehensive eyes and smiled at the thought of actually being with a younger version of him. "Benji, right?" She broke the ice pretending as if she didn't know him.

"Y-yeah. Benjamin Applebaum, at your service." He chuckled as he extended a handshake that was reciprocated. "Wait, how did you know my name?"

"Everybody knows about the lead Trebles. I'm actually a big fan of-,"

"Are you sure you're okay?" He interrupted – apparently bothered by the thought of the accident. "Sorry, it's just-, I saw you lose your balance. I saw you splashing wildly along the asphalt. You must have an abrasion, at least."

Emily smiled at his relentless tendency to think about the welfare of others, but when she replayed the scene in her head frame by frame, she understood his state. It was indeed an awful fall – like the one she saw in movies done by professional stunt doubles. Not a bruise was on her… not even a scratch. This wasn't normal for Emily. Heck, this wasn't normal for any human being.

"Must be my lucky day," she said with a nervous chuckle. She thought of her invincibility as a side effect of time travelling but swiftly brushed the idea off her head as she remembered aggressively cursing Stacie's desk earlier when she stubbed her toe on it.

Curious, Emily walked to the nearest street lamp and mindedly smacked a solid jab onto its iron pole. Benji screamed at this.

That was when it hit her that it wasn't a side effect of time travelling but of an alternate timeline molding its way to the present. She couldn't feel anything because she was starting to be erased from existence. Either that, or the tiny change in history had somehow caused her to end up paralyzed from the neck down in the future.

Emily's breathing grew faster. Apparently, her asthma hadn't gone off yet at that point. She could hear Benji panicking, questioning if she was crazy for punching the post like that. She was too busy trying to catch her breath to explain.

"Hey, miss, what's happening?" Benji changed into a tone of concern upon hearing her wheeze. "Oh no. Are you having an asthma attack?! Where's your inhaler?"

All she could do was shake her head. "What? You don't have it right now? What kind of asthmatic doesn't bring an inhaler or other emergency meds?!" Benji cried, then he reached deep into his pocket. "Here, use mine." Emily took his inhaler without giving it a second thought and breathed the bronchodilator in.

A few seconds after her asthma resolved, Emily breathed a generous  _'Thank you,'_  as she returned his inhaler.

"Now that you used my inhaler, and I probably saved you from turning blue, it becomes my business to know who you are, what are you doing running in the streets at this hour, and oh my god, why are you so pretty?" Benji wrinkled his nose. "Sorry, that was-, the last one-, sorry, I didn't mean to sound-,"

Emily just casted a short nice laugh. "You can call me Emily. I did something horrible with my life and the lives of my parents, so I was trying to escape this reality. About the last one… Genes, probably." She squealed a little and chuckled upon seeing Benji's lips curve into a shy smile.

"There's a party a few blocks from here… at Casa Bella. I'm heading there right now. Do you want to join?" Benji offered.

Emily ran a hand through her long auburn hair. "I was actually at that party before I started running like a madman."

"Didn't like the disturbance?"

"Nope, not at all."

"Oh, okay, then at least let me walk you home or something, so I can know you made it safe and my inhaler med didn't go to waste," he joked.

Emily's jaw dropped when she realized she couldn't give a decent answer regarding her residence. "I ran away from home this week," she blurted out, bug-eyed. "I was staying at my boyfriend's house for a w-while then we broke up last night so now I d-don't have anywhere else to go."

"Oh," stuttered Benji as he tried to process the information. "Where are your stuff? You left them at his place?"

Emily sighed nervously. "He um, he burned them in the fireplace before I got back."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"How awful."

"Very."

Benji tapped his foot relentlessly as he tried to come up with ways to help the young girl. "Where were you planning on staying over for tonight?"

Emily shrugged. "I was thinking maybe sleeping in an abandoned house isn't all that bad." She chuckled.

"Oh god." Benji scratched lightly at the back of his head. "You could crash into the Treble house for a while."

"Isn't it, like an all-boys place or something?"

"What?! No, not really," Benji answered, remembering his Trebles' girlfriends staying over a lot. "I don't have a roommate so you can take the other bed in my room."

Thinking it was the only option she had as of the moment, Emily decided to accept the offer and figure out the next days as they come. "You're ridiculously kind, you know?"

Benji smiled. "You seem like a nice girl who just made the wrong turns."

* * *

It was getting late. Beca couldn't sleep because the noise from the party was atrocious. Sighing, she got up and journeyed the hallway in her sweatpants and grey shirt. She knocked at Stacie's door and was glad when a pair of electric blue eyes came in sight.

"I heard you drowned," greeted Beca as she entered their room.

Chloe shut the door and sat on her bed with Beca. "It was insane. I thought I was going to die. Good thing Tom was around wh-,"

"What was he doing in the party, anyway? He graduated already," interrupted Beca as soon as she heard that cursed name.

Chloe leaned against the headboard, tired. "I don't know. He pulled me out of the water and gave me CPR-,"

"CPR?! HE GAVE YOU CPR?!" Beca yelled in sincere surprise.

"What's that tone? Well, would you rather that I asphyxiated?!" Chloe yelled back.

Beca shook her head. "I didn't know he knew CPR," she lied. Of all the people in the area at that given moment, it had to be Tom. Where was she, anyway?  _Oh, right._  She stumbled down the staircase.

"He helped me clean up and change into dry clothes and-,"

"You couldn't do that yourself?"

"Without him peeking, of course! You perv!" Chloe nudged Beca with her elbow. "Then out of the blue, just before he left, he asked me out."

Beca swore she was about to throw up any time. "Please tell me you said no."

"It's one date, Becs. He saved my life. I owe him at least that," said Chloe with a smile that Beca could not decipher.

"He's obviously designing a scheme to get into your pants again. Didn't you tell me that you're way over casual flings?" The jealousy was eating Beca alive. As bubbly as her best friend was, Beca never had problems with Chloe hanging out with a lot of people as long as it stayed platonic and non-sensual.

"Becs, it'll just be a returned favor… a thank you to him," Chloe chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I say you're getting jealous."

Beca stood in sudden disbelief. "I am NOT jealous!"  _Lie._  "Why would I be jealous?!"  _You know why._

Chloe smiled shyly as she stood and approached the brunette. "Becs, you need to calm down." She grabbed her pale hands and pulled her back to sit back on her bed. "You're stressed out, as you always are." She gestured to have Beca lie sideways on the bed then positioned herself behind – placing her hands on the brunette's shoulders.

"I don't want a backrub," whispered Beca as she closed her eyes and enjoyed Chloe's massage. She could stay like this all night. This would be one of the things that she might lose when she tells her best friend that she has strong romantic feelings for her. Beca couldn't risk losing an iota of that.

Chloe smirked when Beca didn't pull away. "Where were you today? I barely saw you around before the party."

Because she knew she'd do anything to keep Chloe in her life, Beca figured it wasn't the best time to tell her about her new internship at  _Residual Heat Studio._ "Dad had me helping check his students' papers."

"Isn't that a little inappropriate at some point?"

"Shhhh," replied Beca and they both laughed.

Chloe shifted the topic. "Tom's not that bad, you know? We had a no-strings-attached fling before but he was always a gentleman."

"Oh boy. Here we go again," mocked Beca.

Chloe's brows furrowed. "Why do you hate him so much?"

 _Because I don't want him to be in a relationship with you?_ "Because he looks like a big douche."

 _Because I want to be the one who takes you out on dates?_ "Because I think him asking you out is a bad thing."

"Oh yeah? And where did you get that hunch? Is it from one of your galaxy dreams again?"

Beca couldn't help the smile that was pulling out. Chloe was the only person who could keep up with her  _'galaxy dreams'_  (those dreams that start with Beca floating in space with the stars and the planets and getting sucked into a wormhole that leads to a peculiar dream). "Yeah. I had a galaxy dream last night where Tom got hit by a bus on his way to your date," mocked Beca.

"Mean Beca Mitchell."

Beca shifted around to face her. "Chlo?"

"Yeap?"

"I did have a galaxy dream last night. It was haunting."

Chloe saw a familiar look of worry in the brunette's eyes. "Tell me about it."

"I was walking on a beach when a giant Russo stopped me. He said I must choose to give up one of my most prized possessions to proceed."

Chloe propped herself up on one elbow. "Wait, Russo? Your cat, Russo?"

"The one I had to give away ten years ago because of my asthma? Yes." Beca took a deep breath before she continued. "Russo said he wanted my laptop and my sunflower blanket. I told him I can't give him either, but he said he had to take one of 'em or he would eat me and everyone I hold dear."

"Well that's trash. You can't give up your laptop or your sunflower blanket! You basically live for your music, a-and that blanket was your mom's last Christmas gift to you. Russo was giving you an impossible option! Please tell me you woke up before actually having to choose."

Beca sat up. "I didn't. I had to give my laptop to Russo, and keep the sunflower blanket."

"OH MY GOD," Chloe exclaimed as she sat up as well.

"I know. I know. It was horrible, Chlo!"

Chloe pulled her into a comforting embrace. "Why the blanket, though? You didn't just flip a coin to get an answer, did you?"

Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe's trunk. "I do love my laptop a lot, but I figured, I wouldn't be living a kickass life if I gave up the blanket which helps me sleep at night. I mean, seriously, Chlo. Humans need sleep, and I'm human, so I need sleep."

Chloe laughed hard. That galaxy dream wasn't completely hilarious for Beca, because it really was an awful situation for a dream, but before she could react herself, the door swung open and a tipsy Stacie Conrad walked in, startling them.

"Woah, okay. I'll be out of yuh hair right away," muttered Stacie when she saw Beca and Chloe giggling in bed.

"Wait, no! Stace! It's okay. Beca was just stopping by," said Chloe.

Stacie threw herself onto her bed. "Are you sure? I could sleep elsewhere if you two are gun' fuck tonight."

The two girls looked at each other wide-eyed before starting to correct Stacie's sense simultaneously.

"Stop yelling," Stacie uttered, halting the two. "I was just playin' with you shitheads." She immediately fell into slumber as soon as she uttered the last word.

"I'm going back to my room," whispered Beca and exited quickly before Chloe could protest. The redhead lied down and stared at the ceiling – thinking about how well Beca's shirt fit her contour. When she was narrating her galaxy dream, Chloe stared at her thin lips and found herself wondering how soft they must feel against hers. She violently shook her head and slapped a palm to reset her thoughts.

 _I should stop these perverted thoughts about Beca Mitchell,_  she scolded herself whilst taking all the self-pity. Chloe replayed in her head all the times she dropped hints of her affection and frowned at Beca's relentless tendency to have every single one of them unnoticed. It had been three long years of swooning over Beca, and maybe, just maybe, Tom might be the ultimate key to moving past it.


	4. Time Travel 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative team behind the Pitch Perfect films.)

**4: Time Travel 101**

 

Emily woke to the sound of a ringtone of _Do You Believe in Magic._ Rubbing the sleep off her eyes, she grunted when she saw the digits of the digital clock come into focus. She was motioning to turn off the alarm when the door creaked open slowly – revealing Benji holding a breakfast tray.

"Sorry, that alarm was for me," he said as he laid the tray down on the bed and switched the ringtone off. "I couldn't sneak some bacon in there. The boys savaged the meat tray in a blink. Good thing I managed to save you some of the hotcakes I made."

Emily looked at the breakfast and jolted up. "Oh, the food's for me?"

Benji nodded. "I'd be the center of all attacks if they find out I had a girl in my room. They'd think I slept with you or something." He noticed the immediate wrinkling of Emily's nose upon his last remark. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just-, it's just-, uh-, it's boys' talk. I know. Sorry."

It didn't take long before the plate was shining clean. Emily found it silly that Benji's jaw literally dropped upon witnessing how fast she could eat. She licked a finger clean of the maple before speaking. "I have a thing for hotcakes," she mumbled with her half-empty mouth, "especially when they're made with a touch of vanilla extract."

Benji shrugged. "Glad you liked it. I actually get that a lot. Everyone loves my-,"

Emily quaffed from the glass of water and noticed the interruption in his train of thought. "What?"

"How did you know I added vanilla into the mix?" Benji asked. "It doesn't lift a single taste up. I mix the extract in just to lift the caramel flavoring.

"And it was a product of my innovation," he added.

_Shoot!_

Emily remembered the time older Beca told her pre-school self about the same hotcake recipe she learned from older Benji. In her many years of life, Emily hadn't settled with having _'clumsy'_ as her middle name, and was now struggling with yet another lie to tell the people of the past. "A childhood friend told me about that recipe, so I just assume every caramel-tasting hotcake to be, you know, added with the magic of vanilla extract."

 _Nailed it!_ Emily complimented herself mentally. She walked over to the window to take a little comfort in overseeing the beautiful panorama of the lake just across the Treble house. Benji walked over and joined her in enjoying the view. "So, Emily, where are you from, originally?" He asked with a touch of coolness in his tone of speaking.

"Seattle," she replied shortly. This was probably the first honest answer she made in 2014.

"No, I didn't mean from what place," he followed up - still using that same cold voice. "What _year?_ "

Emily looked at him with stunned eyes. The neurons in her brain were firing in chaos as she tried to dodge the bullet. "I'm not sure I follow. What do you m-,"

"When did you get here? How did you get here?"

"Slow down, chap. What are you talking about?"

"You know well what I'm talking about. What year are you from?"

"Is this because of your hotcakes recipe? I swear I-,"

"What year?!" Benji's face was anxiety, curiosity, anger, and surprise all rolled into one expression.

"2044," she finally said softly.

Benji immediately buried his face in his hands as he walked back to sit at the edge of his bed - his eyes frantically dancing with his furrowed brows. "You're from the future. Oh god, I have so many questions to ask you. I don't even know where to start."

"I'll help you," Emily said as she swiveled to face Benji. "Where do I start? Oh right! I was walking late at night with my best friend, Patty, when suddenly a light came swallowing me whole, and next thing I know, I was getting invited to a party dated thirty years ago from my time. How did I get here? How the hell should I know?! I didn't exactly receive a manual on time fucking travelling!" She gasped and threw a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. I'll watch my language. I don't usually say the F word a lot. It was an accident."

He saw the escalation in her breathing pattern. "Woah, Em. Calm down. Breathe. Remember to breathe. Close your eyes. Think of an important person in your life, and imagine them asking you to take it slow. That's what I do when I feel like I'm having another asthma attack."

She did as she was told, and more than ever, she couldn't feel more relieved after an impending episode. "How did you know about the whole time travel thing?

"Right there," He pointed to the mirror by the windows. "There was an urban legend that a certain group of time travelers don't possess image reflections when they're not in their original timeline."

Emily froze as she glanced sideways to the mirror which didn't show her face and body but did reflect Stacie's skirt.

"They don't even show in pictures," he added.

"Are you majoring in time travel or something?" Emily joked - still staring at the mirror with an estranged look.

"About three years ago, I thought of involving time travel in one of the magic tricks I was designing, so I started knowing all there is about breaking the time-space continuum."

"How's that going for you?"

Benji shrugged. "I haven't got a lot of opportunity to catch up with my research during the past year; I got college and a cappella eating my hours."

Emily shot a worried look at him. She sat beside him as she took slow, deep breaths. "You obviously know more about my situation. Can you please tell me what I need to know?"

Benji positioned himself so that he faced her figure as they both sat on his bed. "Em, you must understand that there are hundreds of ways by which one could travel in time. It's actually just a theory... an item in the long wish list of science. Well - until now. I have read accounts of successful time travel but I never actually believed any of them because the mechanisms they claimed to have used never made logical sense."

"You said about an urban legend of a group of time-travelers?"

"There are a lot of urban legends about time travel, Em. There's one that uses an enchanted coffin; there's one that uses a helmet of some kind; there's one that uses a blanket made by ancient geniuses; I've read about a lot of them."

"Well, what have you read about the travelers who don't show in pictures like me?"

"Travelers of your kind usually involve wearing an ornament or an accessory that enables-," Benji paused and curiously raised Emily's left wrist. "It's the bracelet, Em," he remarked as he inspected the markings on it. "I've read of only one legend about time travel bracelets. This should be it!" His eyes widened in sudden excitement as he stood and placed his hands on his head. "Holy crap! Time travel bracelets are real!"

Emily rolled her eyes at the interruption of the conversation. Nevertheless, she swore right then that she'd squeeze all the information out of Benji so she could get on her mission as soon as she could.

* * *

_[From Emma's Original Timeline]_

"Emma! Honey! Drag your mom down here! It's movie time!" Chloe yells from the living room.

Fourteen year old Emma dashes out of her room and barges into their mini library to do as she's instructed. Panting, she finds Beca browsing through a thick text book of something. "Mom! Movie time!"

Beca shoots her a familiar look of apathy. "Em, I have two good reasons why I should stay where I'm standing right now: (1) I have tons of things to do for the firm, (2) I hate movies. You should know that by now." She looks back down on the book and resumes flipping on the pages.

"Mom! We're scheduled to watch _Armageddon_ tonight! Mumsy's got everything settled downstairs!"

"Oh come on. You fall asleep faster than I do during Friday Movie Nights. Quit pretending like you're excited about _Armageddon,_ " Beca remarks.

Emma walks deeper into the room. "I only fall asleep on chick flicks and _rom-coms,_ Mom. You fall asleep regardless of the genre."

"Exactly my point. Why should I join you guys when all I do is sleep my way through the whole plot? Now, go downstairs and see _Armageddon_ with your Mumsy." Beca closes the book and returns it back on the shelf. She retreats to her desk and faces her laptop - sighing as the bunch of unread e-mails from her boss flash before her eyes.

Beca hasn't reached the ten minute mark after brushing Emma off when Chloe entered the library with folded arms. Beca rolls her eyes as she leans back. "Chlo, I need to pass from this Friday Movie Night."

"Why did you reject Ems like that? You know she just misses you." She approaches Beca to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I miss you."

"Chlo, it's hell right now at the office. Peters and her associate are on a case battling with big ass environmentalists and I'm on a twenty four hour duty to-," She halts when Chloe's lips meet hers. Her kiss is her remedy, her comfort, and her solace all at the same time.

Chloe pulls out gently as she anchors her forehead against Beca's. "You need a break from work, honey. Don't skip on Friday Movie Night this time. It's cruel enough that you literally fall asleep on your desk here almost every night. Either that, or you get up very early in the morning. It's been a while since I had the chance to kiss you good night... and good morning."

Emma sits comfortably before the screen as she hugs a bowl of popcorn. She smiles when she hears two sets of footsteps descending the staircase. "Mom can never say no to Mumsy," she teases, which Chloe laughs at.

Beca sits in between her wife and daughter. Emma grabs Beca's left arm and swings it across her own shoulder so that her head rests on her mom's neck.

Fifteen minutes into the film, Emma's focus is interrupted when she hears faint smooching sounds. Disgusted, she lifts herself off from Beca and sits upright as she chews angrily on her popcorn to drown the sounds of her moms making out like horny teenagers.

"So sorry, Ems," Chloe whispers as she laughs silently with Beca.

Emma has always loved films made with a touch of science-fiction. She watches the movie with sheer interest, and when the resolution of the plot uncovers, when the oil drillers made it back to Earth safely and the girl runs into the arms of the love of her life, Emma squeals. Expecting it to be a fun moment, she frowns when she realizes that she didn't hear Chloe scream with her. Usually, the giant romantic scenes make them both cringe and squeal at the top of their lungs, but tonight, Emma enjoys the final kissing scene alone. She turns to her parents only to find them both fast asleep.

Mumsy never falls asleep during a movie, mutters Emma as she admires the way Chloe's hands are wrapped around Beca's trunk as she sleeps with a slight curve of a smile in her lips. She gives both her mothers a light peck on the forehead before spreading the couch blanket over them. With one final look, Emma glances over her asleep moms and thinks that never in a million years will she wish to trade precious moments like this over anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. I thought it might be toxic for you guys to get bombarded with so much details about the mechanisms of Em's time travel so I figured I'd just spread them out throughout the chapters as the need for the background information calls for it.


	5. Homeless Junk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative team behind the Pitch Perfect films.)

**5: Homeless Junk**

 

Benji placed their cups on the table before he sat down across Emily. "I got you light soy latte as you requested, and woah," he remarked after seeing several cinnamon sachets come out of Emily's pocket, "don't tell me you're a _cinnamon-hoarder_ like me!"

"But I am, Benji!" She chuckled as she emptied the sachets into her beverage. "So, let me recap what you've told me so far... Thousands of years ago, a group of ancient _Einsteins_ created bracelets that could transport the bearer to a specific number of years back depending on the designation on the bracelet."

"Yup, and fortunately you got the one with the thirty years of record."

"Why did you use the word _'fortunately?'_ Nothing about my situation is fortunate!" Emily shot at him before sipping from her cup.

"Do you know how dangerous it is to travel in a year where you technically exist? There's two of you in one timeline. That's a code for a big butt physics disaster!" Benji explained.

"Fine. I _fortunately_ traveled into a time where I don't exist yet." She cleared her throat. "Okay, now I have to figure out a way to get this stupid bracelet off my wrist so I could go back to 2044 and-,"

"No! No! No!" He cut her off. "The only way you can get that out of you is when you chop your arm off. Even then, it will not transport you back."

"WHAT?!" Emily exclaimed. She shut her eyes tight and shook her head. "Okay, then how do I get back to my year?"

"I don't know, Em," he said softly, "I haven't read much into the bracelets. I actually forgot where I first came across this legend." He noticed Emily's face drop in worry. He fondled his cup of coffee as his eyes fixed down on the glass table they both shared. "Hey, I'll help you get back to your year, I promise. I'll find th-, OH, MAY THE ACA FORCE BE WITH YOU! EMILY, YOUR TOE!"

She looked down on her flip flops and noticed that her right toe literally vanished. "No, no, no, no! She ran a finger on the spot where her right big toe should be visible.

"You're fading, Emily!" Benji exclaimed. "That also explains why you couldn't feel pain last night!"

"No shit, Benji. I don't need to spell it out for you, great!" She replied sarcastically.

"When did the ripple rock happen?! What did you do?!" Benji questioned with great worry.

"I really want to tell you about who I am, but it might be another ripple rock," said Emily.

"Well, it's no use sending you back to your present when we find away. Technically, you don't already exist in 2044! We need to re-calibrate your history so that you end up existing in a way, but before I can help you, I need to know stuff about you. It's a long shot, but it's the best option you have right now."

Emily took a deep breath. "Okay. I live in Seattle with my parents Beca and Chloe Beale-,"

"Wait! They ended up together?! Damn, life's good!" Benji's eyes glistened with joy.

"Benji, please let me finish!" Emily sighed. "We were celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary when my best friend and I decided to go out for a walk and buy my parents a little something. I originally got this bracelet for Mumsy but when I tried it on, the light came and I traveled through time. When I realized it was the same date as the Treble party, I sneaked in hoping to witness Mom... I mean Beca saving Chloe from drowning. I mean, it was the ultimate event that started their relationsh-,"

"But it wasn't Beca who saved Chloe last night," interrupted Benji, his voice turning little. "Jesse said it was some guy-,"

"I know! I know! I had something to do with it, and now I'm disappearing!" Emily followed up, then buried her face into her hands.

"You need to find a way to let at least one of your moms act on their toners," said Benji.

"Toners?"

"Yeah, musical bo-,"

"I know what a toner is," Emily clarified. "Are you saying that my moms are into each other already?"

"Way since freshman year, kid." Benji pulled a smug smirk. "But I can't say that it's a step easier for you knowing that. There's no tougher obstacle than denied and repressed feelings."

Emily leaned back on her chair in silence, as did Benji.

"Well this was an interesting morning," he whispered before drinking from his cup.

Emily couldn't agree more. She now knew the magnitude of the mess she slid into.

* * *

"But what if I create a basketful of ripple rocks and hasten my obliteration?!" Emily bellowed, pacing up and down Benji's room.

"Take it slow, Em. We've talked about this. Quit thinking about ripple rocks," said Benji in an attempt to get into the younger girl's head. Benji coined the term _'ripple rocks'_ as a way of describing the changes in history (made by travelers) that awfully create subsequent ripples on its own like domino tiles... Like time-traveler Emily simply greeted Beca, causing the latter to stumble and hit her head... causing Tom to be the one to save Chloe... causing the latter to feel obligated of spending time with him... causing Beca to convince herself that the redhead is out of her league... causing her to act more _'platonic'_ around Chloe... causing the latter to convince herself as well, that the brunette is not into her at all... causing their toners not getting acted upon... causing the _Beca-Chloe_ romantic relationship to not start at all... causing glitches in Emily's existence.

At least, that was how Benji would always put it in conversations with her.

Emily placed her hands proudly on her hips. "The fact that I'm talking to you right now could be a ripple rock, for all we know, Benji! In the original historical account, there was no time-traveler Emily! You were doing a different thing at this very moment because Emily didn't travel back in time. You were probably on your way to the communal bathroom when you happen to come across passed-out Jesse Swanson along the hallway so you called an ambulance and saved his life. Now that I'm here, you're here, you don't feel like going to the bathroom, and what if Jesse's bleeding to death in the hallway right now?!"

Rubbing a hand to his nape, Benji stood and opened the door, pretending to peek out left and right before retreating into the room and shutting the door behind him. "You can calm down now. No passed-out Jesse Swanson in the hallway."

"That's because these past few days, you've been helping me with my cover. He's probably bleeding elsewhere!"

"Emily." Benji raised a hand to halt her momentarily. "Nobody said about time travel being all pretty. There are hundreds of books and films made about it. The ancient geniuses who built those bracelets? They were really geniuses. They didn't just come up with a time travel vessel. They also established algorithms and calculation formulae to predict the _'ripple-tivity'_ of an altered event."

She let out a short laugh. "Ripple-tivity?"

"I made it up. Just ride along," snapped Benji.

"Where can we get access to those algorithms and stuff?" She inquired.

He shrugged. "The article was a short summary of the legend. I actually have forgotten most of it. All I know is that concrete records of these mathematical innovations were never found - ever. Historians would only describe those nerds as having the awesome brains to have discovered ways of knowing which events can and will be ripple rocks. For us time travel newbies, we'll just go with the flow. Nothing's changed since your vanished toe, anyway. You need to start your moms' relationship so we can ship you home right away to 2044."

"We don't even know how to ship me home to 2044," Emily said with a sad intonation in her voice.

"I'll do what I can to find out more sources about your case," he replied. "For now, focus on getting Beca and Chloe together."

When most of the Treblemakers had gone off to school making the hallways serene, Benji walked Emily to the front door. The morning wind graciously greeted Emily in a way that refreshed her spirits. All her footwear had to be _'closed'_ so the missing toe wouldn't show up and freak anyone out. She thought about branding herself as an amputee, but Benji emphasized that it should only be used as a last drastic resort. Stepping out of the Treble house, she took a couple of deep breaths while she walked around the lake towards Casa Bella. She was worrying less about her clumsiness because Benji had it mapped out for her; he managed to get her a fake university ID, loan her a few clothes from a distant cousin of his (who happened to be a Barden student as well), get her a phone of her own, and find her a way to fit herself into the Barden Bellas for her mission... all in a span of three days.

Emily knocked at the door feeling giddy about the day. Amy greeted her with a confused face when she opened. "I'm sorry, miss. We're not a shelter for the homeless," the senior Bella blurted out upon seeing Emily's luggage, after which she attempted to shut the door on her.

Panicking mentally, Emily slammed a palm to block the closing. "Oh, no, I'm actually here to audition for the Bellas?"

Emily was feeling a pang in her gut as Amy was staring blankly at her. It didn't take long before a familiar redhead revealed from behind the door - apparently listening to them both. "In case you were living under a rock before you got here, we had a nationwide mess a few months ago causing us to get deprived of a lot of things... inclusive of the freedom to hold auditions, so..."

"But I'm a Junk!" She cut Chloe off before mentally scolding herself for deviating from Benji's script that goes _'I'm a legacy.'_

Before either of them could follow up another word, a familiar face entered the scene. "What's going on?" Beca inquired as she approached Chloe. Seeing Emily, her eyes lighted up and her lips curved into a smirk. "Em... Emma, right?"

"Emily," she corrected.

"Right... Emily." The brunette's sight scanned over Emily's stuff. "What are you doing here? Why do you have... bags?"

"I was hoping I could join this batch of the Bellas? I know you're not allowed to take new girls, but I was hoping you g-," She gulped as the words jumbled in her tongue, "g-guys c-could um, make an ex-exception for me. I'm a legacy. My mother was a Bella."

 _Nailed Benji's script!_ She complimented herself mentally.

"Junk!" Chloe exclaimed in her light bulb moment. "You're Katherine Junk's daughter?!"

"Bingo! Yes, she gets it now," Emily heaved a sigh of relief, thanking the _aca-gods_ for letting Chloe figure it out sooner because she forgot the first name Benji wrote in the cards. The redhead pulled her inside the house and brought her to the living room, yelling 'Girls! We have a Bella legacy! You have to come down here' along the way. Emily sat at the couch getting all _weirded_ out seeing the Barden Bellas thirty years younger.

"Emily here, is the daughter of the amazing Katherine Junk," Chloe introduced to the girls with an excited smile - like she had never seen a Bella legacy her whole life.

"Katherine Junk? The captain of the 1981 Bellas?!" Stacie exclaimed from her seat.

Chloe nodded and squealed before turning back to Emily. "I met your mother once, you know? I was just ten at the time when I saw her perform at a convention my mom brought me to. She even had this cute little _Dachshund_ puppy backstage with her! How's the dog doing?"

 _Shoot!_ Emily didn't recall a dog's name anywhere in Benji's script. "That dog died," she said out of impulse.

"Oh," Chloe ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry to hear that."

Beca stood and approached the redhead. "Wait. The terms of our suspension say that we cannot hold auditions to get new members."

"I'm aware, Becs. I was there in that room running out of air to breathe in. They didn't want our kind to, and I quote, grow like a fungus," Chloe shot at her making the brunette roll her eyes.

"Letting Emily join us isn't _'letting our kind grow like a fungus,'_ because technically, she's been a _'fungus'_ like us the moment she was born. She's here just to formally confirm her place in the group and you know, actually participate. We're not breaking any rules here."

The redhead narrowed her eyes. "Beating me on a technicality, Mitchell?"

"I am, Beale." She smiled. "Besides, it's not like you aren't excited to formally have a legacy in our midst," she wheedled.

Chloe stood still as she drilled holes in Beca's head with the glare of her suspicious eyes.

Beca rolled her eyes once more. "Oh come on, Chlo. You won't win this time. I have _peculiar_ ways of convincing you."

"All those who agree with Beca, sing a _G sharp._ All those who don't, sing an _E flat,_ " Chloe spat to the rest of the group.

"Agree on what now?" Cynthia Rose mumbled under her breath.

"What Beca said," Jessica replied as she shrugged in shared confusion. "Although, it's unclear which part exactly so, I don't know."

"My money's on the _peculiar_ ways of convincing," Ashley whispered to them with a smug smirk painting across her face.

Chloe counted to three and the senior Bellas sang their votes. It was one of those times wherein Emily wished she had taken the basics of classical music a little serious back at her Mumsy's music school. She couldn't tell whether or not the sound was homogeneous. Before she could think about excuses to tell Benji in case she didn't make it into the group, Beca went to her and handed a curious little thing in her hand: a key.

Emily danced aggressively in joy when Chloe revealed that she was in. The senior Bellas each gave her a welcoming hug inviting a feel of home for Emily, since she had known those girls as her mothers' caring friends.

"Come on, roomie. We need to unpack your stuff," invited Beca as she helped with the luggage. Emily glanced at the key in her hand and happily followed Beca upstairs.


	6. Slipping From the Palm Leaf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative team behind the Pitch Perfect films.)

**6: Slipping From the Palm Leaf**

Amusement filled Emily's eyes when she finally stepped into Beca's room. It was a bit messy, but a lot of it screamed Chloe Beale, like the matching blue lamp shades, the blue beanbag, and all the other blue details scattered in the corners of Beca Mitchell's side of the room. She asked her about the beanbag and the lamp shade, and Beca could only reply with words such as _'Chloe said she loves getting things in buy-one-take-one promos because she was getting the items at a lesser value, and I really have no choice but to accept the taken-piece while she kept the bought-piece.'_

Emily laid down her backpack on the floor before slowly approaching the wall perpendicular to Beca's desk. In all its glory, there hung several pictures of both her mothers and artworks signed with _'Chlo.'_

"You and Chloe must be really close," commented Emily - not knowing how else to start a small talk with her new roommate.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." Beca took the time to notice Emily's growing fondness of the stuff posted on her wall. "I own an instant camera, and sometimes I like to capture random interesting stuff. Every time Chloe's in here, she'd take the prints and hang them all over the place."

"So, Chloe is one of those random interesting stuff?" Her eyes pause at the collective prints of Chloe goofing around with her eyes cheering at the camera.

Beca let out a short chuckle. "Chloe also loves to take photos of herself when she's in here."

"And you just let her do impromptu makeovers on your room?"

"I don't really care what she does to my walls. She makes it look like I'm actually an agent of order and cleanliness whenever my dad comes to visit me here. At least I get a break from his powerful comments on my boring posters."

"You don't really smile in pictures, do you?" Emily's eyes wandered over at the photo booth printouts next to the _Polaroid_ ones. She knew her mother as a big enemy of photos, evidenced by the countless family portraits of the Mitchell-Beale home where the most that Beca could sport was a forced half-smirk.

Beca shrugged. "Chloe has this crazy habit of dragging my ass to the nearest photo booth every year on our birthdays."

Emily reached the counter beside Beca's bed (where the blue lamp shade rested), and furrowed her brows at the peculiar decor of a left hand made out of white marble. "What was Chloe thinking when she gave you this hand thing?"

"Oh, that wasn't from her. It was from my previous roommate Kimmy Jin. One day, she just grabbed it from her desk, went over to me, and told me I could use this when I transfer to Casa Bella. It's weird. She's weird, but I kept the hand, anyway."

When Emily's eyes fell on the glass of milk beside the hand, a short giggle couldn't help getting out. "Trouble sleeping?"

Beca realized what she was referring to and ran her fingers through her auburn locks. "Oh, that! Damn it! I forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"The only shaker available in blue was five hundred milliliters in capacity, so Chloe makes a lot of her evening milk every night and gives me the other half of the volume so she doesn't have to drink it all up and upset her stomach in the morning." Beca rubbed a hand at the side of her neck. "I got caught up with homework last night that I forgot to drink it."

It doesn't really take a genius to see what's going on, complained Emily in her head - contemplating about the actual message Chloe wished to convey through the gifts. Emily sighed. Her senses invited her to casually slap Beca across the face for being so blind and naive.

"I got you matching lamp shades and bean bags... because they were on _buy-one-take-one_ and I don't really need two of these."

"I make you hand-sketched hearts and post it all over your room... _because I am an artist and that's what artists do."_

"I display my selfies across your walls... _because my level of vanity is way off the roof."_

"I want us to have pictures together on our birthdays... _because you don't do anything fun on birthdays."_

"I make you a glass of warm milk every night... _because I can't finish all of it, and I'd hate to see a drop go to waste."_

Oh, and the biggest one of all...

"I failed Russian Literature three times... _because I can't leave the Bellas."_

All these stories about her _'best friend'_ Chloe Beale sum up as one big boulder ready to crush Beca over. Beca heard Chloe's words as they escaped her mouth - failing to read the obvious meanings between the lines.

Beca winced. "Are you done taking a tour around my stuff?"

Emily laughed as she saw her smirk. "Yes, I am."

* * *

_[Later that day…]_

Chloe was feeling odd since noon for reasons she did not fully comprehend. Then she started feeling the need to roll her eyes every five seconds when she sat at the pool area with the Bellas for an afternoon chill. She was busying herself with a book as she was reclining uncomfortably in the poolside lounger for the past hour. Chloe didn't notice Jessica beside her until the cheeky senior quirked her book down her eye level with her index finger.

"That must be a really good book," Jessica murmured with a grave interest in her tone.

"What made you say that?"

"Only well-written books get the reader to feel things. So tell me… is the antagonist winning? Is the antagonist upsetting the protagonist? Is the sidekick character annoying?"

"I'm sorry. Where is this conversation going?"

Chloe's grip on her book tightened when Jessica pointed out Chloe's cold mood and angry eyes all afternoon. She tried to brush her off by lifting it up pretending to resume reading, and while she thought it worked, Jessica was keeping her watch of her through her peripherals. When she had enough of Chloe's crap, she seized the book away and forced her to talk. It was very sincere of the redhead telling her that _'it doesn't matter,'_ because it really didn't - not unless she realizes the root of all the ugly vibes around her head. The other Bella finally gave up on trying to crack her, and the two retreated to a silent time by the pool.

"What's with Beca and Legacy?" Chloe finally spat - jolting Jessica to sit back up and face her.

"Who?"

"Beca and the new girl," she emphasized - quirking her head forward to refer to Emily and Beca laughing, enjoying a conversation from across the pool. "How do they know each other? Are they related?"

"How should I know? I haven't started a small talk with Beca in quite a while."

"She was giddy to take Legacy into the group this morning. I've never seen her get all determined during recruitment. Usually, Beca just nods or shakes her head at the voting."

"Well, she did find Flo for us back in Sophomore year."

"I found Flo for us!" Chloe corrected - her voice rising to shove the pride causing Jessica to giggle.

"So they seem close… what does it matter? I haven't seen Beca this carefree since the party. By the way, did something come up or…"

"How should I know? I haven't started a small talk with Beca in quite a while," Chloe mirrored her earlier remark sarcastically.

"You don't like Legacy, do you?"

The redhead folded her arms and glared at the sight of the two girls across the pool (who were already sharing earphone buds and listening together to a mix from Beca's laptop). Jessica was being persnickety like always and noticed every single gesture.

Sighing, she said, "Ah, yes. It's hard when suddenly, you are not her whole world anymore, isn't it?"

Gasping, Chloe quickly defended herself. "Excuse me?! What are you-,"

"Oh shut it, you," Jessica interrupted. "Anyone with functional eyes wouldn't argue about the way you look at her and the way she does at you. It's been three years, Chloe! What will be your lame excuse this time after graduation? That there are lots of vacancies and openings for teaching gigs in LA?"

"Aw shit, you've been talking too much to Stacie!"

"Oh, please! Nobody needs to talk to anybody to see the elephant in the room. It doesn't take a freaking genius to figure it all out, you know?"

Before the cheeky senior could say more, Chloe impulsively got up and walked out of the area - leaving an estranged Jessica. Chloe sprinted to her room, locking herself in. She immediately reached for her iPod and threw the playlist named _'B.M.'_ on shuffle. Curling up in her bed under the comfort of her blanket, Chloe let herself loose when the mash-up of _Can't Take My Eyes Off You, I Need You Back,_ and _Sunday Candy_ \- the first ever mix Beca made exclusively for her - blasted in vulgar volume from her headphones. She tried Aubrey's phone but failed, making her feel less satisfied with the day. Chloe knew she had to let it out a little bit or else she would lose her mind. Grunting in vexation, she punched in Aubrey's number once more and typed a message in.

"Bree, are you there? You have to call me ASAP or I would take the bus to your camp first thing in the morning. [Sent 4:00 pm]"

"Couldn't take your call, sorry… I'm in a seminar right now. [Sent 4:03 pm]"

"But we can text, tho. What's up? Is it Beca again? [Sent 4:03 pm]"

"No other than, Bree. Beca fucking Mitchell. Just when I was finally okay with staying in the fucking friend zone, she starts to drift away, slowly, like a drop of dew threatening to slide completely off a palm leaf. [Sent 4:03 pm]"

"Don't cry, this time, Beale. It was your choice not to tell her directly in the first place. [Sent 4:03 pm]

"How did you know I was crying? [Sent 4:04 pm]"

"The F word appearing twice in one message. It's always the same case. [Sent 4:05 pm]"

"I didn't want to tell her because I know there is no way that she is into me too. [Sent 4:06 pm]"

"You don't know that. You never asked her about it, Chlo. [Sent 4:06 pm]"

"I don't want to make a fool of myself! I was waiting for signs. [Sent 4:06 pm]"

"Beca is not a mind reader, Chlo. She can't just assume that her best friend acts the way she does because she has this massive chunk of romantic feelings for her or something. [Sent 4:07 pm]."

"Jessica said it was screaming too obvious that the feeling is mutual. (Insert sad face emoticon here because my phone keys have problems). Bree… [Sent 4:08 pm]"

"So that's what it's all about… Jessica finding out and rubbing it to your face. [Sent 4:09 pm]"

"More like - the new girl being insanely too close to Beca. [Sent 4:09 pm]"

"I'd rather drown you with comforting words than say what I have to say. [Sent 4:10 pm]"

"Bree, spit it out. [Sent 4:10 pm]"

"Chlo, you are not the only friend Beca has. You are not the only one she can laugh with, or joke with, or spend time with, in general. I think, considering the fact that it's her final year in college, Beca's transitioning slowly into the bigger reality far ahead. Her world begins to expand beyond you, and that scares the hell out of you. You were so accustomed to being the person Beca runs to when she's bored, when she's happy, when she's gloomy, or angry, or anything. You were the only one who could crack through her walls for the past three years, and now that she's letting other people in, you feel betrayed having company in Beca's inner zones. Chlo, if you really want her, you will tell her how you feel; otherwise, live watching the dew slip off your leaf. [Sent 4:15 pm]"

"Are you… still there, Chloe? [Sent 4:21 pm]"

"Chlo? [Sent 4:23 pm]"

"Oh gosh. I am so sorry! Are you mad? Chlo! Please, text back. I know you're there. [Sent 4:24 pm]"

"You asked for it, Chlo. Cut me some slack here. [Sent 4:25 pm]"

"I am calling you first thing when I get home. You better pick up or I swear to the _aca-gods_ I will rip you to shreds, Chloe Beale. Take care. Love ya! [Sent 4:26 pm]"

Chloe heard the phone vibrate against the carpeted floor for the fifth time after she illogically tossed it away - making her cringe. She wasn't a big fan of Aubrey Posen reminding her how scared she is… of leaving college, of leaving the Bella life, of Beca leaving her side.


	7. Awkward Consoler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative team behind the Pitch Perfect films.) I must admit, this is a really tough story to write. An alternate ending flashed in my head frame by frame and I am currently in a crisis of choosing which storyline to follow, because going for the alternate one would require me to extend this fic to like, 5 to 6 chapters than I originally planned.

**7: Awkward Consoler**

Her first days as a Barden Bella came like another journey into a sub-world, as if going back thirty didn't already qualify as a whole new environment. Emily couldn't bear wearing the doll sandals Benji gave her all the time, so she opted to roam inside Casa Bella wearing socks to regain some comfort in her new home. Benji didn't call for two days - making her anxious. With academics and the _ICCA's_ lying around the corner, he's got a lot in his mind, but then so did the Bellas - except for Emily, who had to pretend harder that she attended classes while she sneaked out in cafes around the vicinity for an hour or two… four tops. Then she would return home making up stories about awful school experiences to put icing on the cake. She tried avoiding small talks with the other girls to minimize the risk of ripple rocks, but when circumstances wouldn't permit her to, she coped by putting up a shy front.

The chilly evenings became the only thing Emily looked forward to because she got to talk with Beca about basically anything. Just two nights ago, the senior Bella entered the room with flames in her eyes. Emily noticed this quickly but didn't pry realizing that the overwhelming amount of energy inside Beca would eventually cause her to spill… and it did.

Emily was sitting comfortably against the headboard with a book to spend the minutes with when her roommate invaded her bed right after changing into her favorite set of pajamas. She recognized the nightwear well even without the fading shades of navy blue, the loosening garter, and the tearing at the hem that it owned since the 2030's (or will own in the 2030's). Beca soon revealed having to sing with _Snoop Dogg_ at the internship. Emily couldn't believe it at first but as Beca's glistening eyes and wide smiles continued with the news, she sighed - admiring the sniff of joy in her mother's voice. When Beca let her hear one of her latest mixes, Emily's tongue slipped by remarking that it was one of her most favorite mixes ever. Of course, Beca quirked a brow thinking that she created the mix a day ago and that it was the first one she ever shared with someone who wasn't Chloe, and to have your roommate say that "this retro-ish mix" was her most favorite work of hers, was just way… _way_ peculiar.

This night, though, the science fiction locked all her interest and attention in. Emily didn't notice Beca arriving with tones of frustration as she was tossing her bag at the floor, kicking her shoes wildly away, and knocking her books off her bed with one swipe of her hands. When Emily's eyes eventually grew tired of reading, her eyes landed on a busy Beca Mitchell crafting music with her laptop.

Beca leaned back on her swivel chair while she ran her hands through her hair with exasperated groans. Sighing, she took her headphones off her ears onto a lazy embrace around her neck while she fixated a dull stare at her screen monitor.

She grabbed a stapler and fondled it for absolutely no apparent reason. "Don't stress yourself out. It's going to be okay," Beca voiced in a higher pitch as she entered a personified role play with her stapler.

"But he said I have no sound of my own," she said next in her normal tone.

"You do, Becs. You're the bomb. Your sound is an unparalleled talent. You just have to find it in you."

Beca frowned at her stapler. "I've talked to Dax once. He said he doesn't believe that I have what it takes. Nobody ever did, I guess."

"I do. I believe in you, Beca." Her voice grew squeakier.

"I believe in you, Beca.

"I believe in you, Beca.

"I believe in you.

"I believe in you, B-,"

Emily grunted loud. "I'm pretty sure your stapler has a slightly lower voice than the one you're making up right now," she told Beca.

The senior turned to face her. "I figured that's what she would be saying to me in this crisis."

"Okay," started Emily as she moved to sit closer to her roommate. "Number one, what crisis? And second, who is this _'she'_ we're talking 'bout?"

Beca laid the stapler back on her desk. "Remember when I told you that Sammy actually considered listening to my demos?"

"Beca, that was just three nights ago. Of course, I remember you happily telling me that your boss finally noticed your tiny figure for the first time."

"Well I sent it first thing the next morning and when I confronted him about it tonight, he said he wasn't at all impressed." Beca's shoulders slumped. "He's giving me one last chance to redeem myself or something, and the pressure is getting into my head. I don't have the proper motivation to clear my head and get it on."

"You do know that you're Beca Mitchell, yeah?" Emily grinned. "The big talent who single-handedly created the Bella sound. You have a wonderful gift that's going-,"

"Yeah, yeah. Spare me the _'you-are-awesome'_ speech, Legacy." Beca rolled her eyes before moving out of her seat to curl regressively in bed. "Where is the bug of creativity and inspiration when you fucking need it?!"

Emily rubbed a hand on her nape thinking of what else to say to lift Beca's spirits up. "Well what does Chloe have to say?"

"She doesn't know," Beca mumbled - her face buried in a pillow, "and even if she did, that's really what she's all going to say: I believe in you, Beca," she quoted back in a squeaky pitch.

"Oh, so Chloe was the stapler!" Emily beamed before letting out a short laugh. "You were trying to act out Chloe's _'Cheer-Beca-Mitchell-Up Starter Pack,'_ weren't you?" She teased.

The senior Bella glared at her. "Cut off that smug grin off your face, Legacy or I will push you out the window."

"Why wouldn't you tell Chloe? I thought you guys were tight or something."

"Have you talked to to her lately? All that's ever came out of her mouth were words like Worlds and, uh, oh! Worlds! WORLDS, WORLDS, WORLDS!" She sat up and tossed the pillow angrily hitting Emily right in the face.

"We would end up in a fight and who fucking knows what's going to happen to us? She might not ever forgive me for even considering getting a side activity in the midst of rehearsals.

"I can't lose her like that, Legacy."

Emily moved to sit beside her. "She'll find out eventually. Please tell me you have a contingency plan when that happens."

Beca shrugged. "I don't. Like always, I'm just praying to whoever is up there that Chloe would still forgive and forget."

"Don't you think her finding out would cause more damage than you volunteering the truth?" Emily looked briefly into Beca's worrying eyes.

She took a breath to compose herself. "I can't make her feel second to my dreams. I mean, I know that the music is my future, but so is she. I can't hurt her like that. I know I'm an idiot. I'm just… scared."

"Please don't start crying, Beca. I'm an awkward consoler," Emily spat making Beca smile.

"You're not the only one. I'm an awkward consoler too."

* * *

_[From Emma's Original Timeline…]_

As they sit on one of the benches in the open field, Chloe tucks in a pouting Emma as she hugs her mother around the waist tightly. The sudden growl of cheer by her co-fifth-graders as they indulge in the interactive activity makes Emma cringe.

"Maybe we can join the next game?" Chloe says in a desperate attempt to cheer her daughter.

"There is no next game," Emma mumbles - the degree of gloom deepening in her tone. "You should've just invited Uncle Jesse or Aunt Amy in place of Mom so we still could've been a team of three and qualified in all the games."

"I know, Em. I'm sorry. Your Mom bailed out at the very last minute. I couldn't get either Jesse or Amy to join us today for The Family Fair." She places a light kiss on Emma's forehead before mentally swearing to boil Beca in reprimanding seas when she gets home tonight.

The trip home renders Emma silent up to the time she refuses to eat dinner to sleep her sadness away. Sitting at the dining table, Chloe awaits as her cup of hibiscus blend tea cools from a good brew. At around half an hour to midnight, the knob finally clicks and the front door squeaks open. Chloe lays down her third cup silently and takes a silent heave of sigh.

Beca tiptoes into the light of the room with a satchel and a big bulk of papers secured in her arms. "Chlo? What are you still doing up?"

Folding her arms, she shoots her a firm stare. "How was work?"

Beca recognizes the tone being one of those that do not actually mean to inquire but rather to rhetorically mock. "What's wrong?"

"Emma," Chloe says shortly. "She skipped dinner and slept early tonight because she was too disappointed about her day."

Groaning, Beca rests her things onto the table and sits across her wife. "The fair today," she mumbles under her breath as she clutches a handful of her locks in frustration. "How was it? What happened?"

Chloe gasps in disbelief. "What? Are you expecting that I might say something positive to answer that? Beca, her self-esteem plummeted because she couldn't join the games she wanted. There were only two of us today and we couldn't hack our way into all of the fun."

"I don't know what to say, Chlo. I didn't want to skip on Em today. It's just… I mean, this new job is-,"

"You couldn't skip for today?" Chloe shoots back. "It's Sunday, to begin with."

Beca's eyes avoid the sight of her. "I can't lose this job, Chloe. I just started and this time, I don't want risk losing it because of my incompetence. I want to be the _'new paralegal'_ that carries a bright promise into the firm. I've been working my ass off to impress them. That way, I'll finally be in a regular-paying job that lasted for more than a year… like the way you wanted it. Then we can send Em to a nice college and maintain your music school at the same time. I'm doing this for us."

Chloe deviates from Beca's point. "I just want you to do one thing: make it up to Em. I've never seen her this low before, Becs. You're lucky you weren't there when she was biting her lip to prevent a tear from falling, when she stayed static in a tense hug around my waist, when a dose of _KitKat_ sundae couldn't put an inch of a smile back on her face. You're lucky you weren't here today to hear your daughter ask if her mother didn't want to hang out with her and not know how to answer."

She stands up preparing to leave. "And Beca, please do not talk to me about your work. It irritates me."

Beca wishes to end the conversation in good terms but before she says anything, Chloe disappears into the bedroom. In the shower, Beca stands still as she lets the cool water drain her body off of bad heat. Chloe's problem with her used to be that Beca keeps on getting into jobs that either have low tenure security or low pay. Never did Beca ever think that _"workaholic parent"_ would in any way affect her marriage. For all the years that Chloe wanted her to get a _"sensible"_ job, she must've known that the workaholic reputation would be part of the package.

Beca joins Chloe in bed after her quick bath. She swears to have closed her eyes for what it feels like five minutes when she senses her phone vibrating from under her pillow - reminding her of the unfinished paperwork she must accomplish before the associates request for it first thing at work later at eight.

"Two hours? You call that a two-hour sleep?!" Beca complains mentally as she fights the growing headache and the drowsiness.

At 3 AM, Beca gets very much into the homework she's doing with a small dose of caffeine steaming aromatically at the side. At 4, she's cooked eggs and bacon for her wife and daughter. At 5, her car has driven past the village gates and onto the hour-long trip to the firm. At 6 in the morning, she finds her co-paralegal annoyed by the fact that Beca checked in fifteen minutes later than their agreed time yesterday. At 7, while they were still cramming the citations in the papers, she brings up Beca's minuscule whip of tardiness once again - prying for possible explanations.

The first few hours at work go by slowly to Beca's senses. Thankfully, with the thirty minute free time that she's got at noon, she finds a way to make it through the rest of the day without passing out in her chair.

"Time is the hardheaded toddler that everyone nurses," Beca speaks to the nosy paralegal she's been stuck with since sunrise today, "The more you say _'no,'_ the more it does its thing… and the trick to save yourself from stroking out is to not mind the toddler's attention-seeking behaviors at all."

The nosy paralegal nods slowly with tired eyes of her own. "I agree, Beca. Were you a straight-A student back in high school? You're the smartest person I have ever met."

Beca wishes to literally shove the nosy paralegal's head into the toilet for making her do all the hard labour and for fibbing and wheedling at the only low time she's getting today… but society has norms and there exists this little thing they call morals, so Beca throws a fake smile at her instead. "Yes. Yes, I am.

"Just ignore the time and do what you have to do. Before you know it, another day's gone and you know, it's time for dinner. Stop counting time."

"Yes, Beca. I just love that. Your wife is lucky to have you."

Rolling her eyes, Beca leaves and does exactly what she just told the nosy paralegal.


	8. Bigger Than Worlds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative team behind the Pitch Perfect films.)

**8: Bigger Than Worlds**

_[From Emma's Original Timeline…]_

Beca arrives home only an hour earlier than yesterday - much to her disappointment (remembering Chloe's anger because she missed Family Fair). Beca enters a silent home with lights already out. Sighing, she heads straight to their room only to find the door locked. She has the key, but Beca opts not to annoy Chloe by going against her wishes. After getting yet, another short shower, she sits at her desk and stares blankly at the new set of paperwork before her.

Beca feels her eyes pooling and she shuts them to let loose of the tears. Sobbing, she leans forward to bury her face between her arms. She hasn't cried in a while, and it is making it all seem comforting at the moment.

A pair of hands touches Beca's shoulder and when she looks up, a bright-eyed Emma frowns at her. "Mom? Why are you crying?"

"Hey, Em. Come here."

Emma sits on her lap and cuddles into a clingy embrace.

"You okay, Em?"

"You're crying. Why are you crying? You shouldn't be crying. I don't like watching you cry," Emma's voice breaks as she mumbles.

"I don't know how to say it, Em," Beca begins while she rubs gentle circles on her daughter's back to soothe her.

"I missed Family Day yesterday and-,"

"It's Family Fair, Mom… not Family _Day,"_ Emma interrupts and Beca shortly laughs at this because her daughter manages to correct her despite her uprising urge to cry with her.

"Okay, _Family Fair._ I'm sorry I missed it, Em. I know how important it was for you. Mom finally got into a wonderful job and at first I was really happy about it because, then, your Mumsy wouldn't have to struggle keeping her music school and we can save more for your college education. It turns out, being a paralegal is way way tough even for people who took a degree in legal management like I did."

"Why? Were you a bad college student back then?"

"Uh, a bit, actually. Yeah. I'm a bad role model, Em. I stayed in school only to please your grandfather but I never actually considered entering a job concerning the legal practice."

Emma grabs the blue hand towel nearby and uses it to rid her mother's face of tears before sitting on Beca's desk. "Well, what job did you want?"

"I wanted to be a music producer." Beca smiles. "Since middle school, I've locked my eyes into one goal, and that is to make wonderful music."

"Well, what happened?"

Beca gently warms Emma's hands with her own. "It turned out, it wasn't enough. I mean, I have your Mumsy and I have you, and if I wanted you guys to have a great life, I must do better than landing in the music industry."

"So, you giving up on your dream, it's my fault?" Emma voices out - her voice breaking, and a tear escapes as she utters the last word.

Beca panics and seals Emma into a tight embrace. "No! No! Sweetie, it wasn't in any way, your doing, okay? Always remember that. You and your mom are the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I will do everything for you."

She pulls out and her heart breaks at the sight of unnecessary guilt in her daughter's eyes. "When you're older, you'll understand that only the gods and goddesses can ever have the privilege of _'having the best of both worlds,'_ but for us mortals, we're always stuck in a crossroad that forces us to do impossible choices. When you're older, when your happiness relies on the happiness of others, you'll realise that you must always have a clear view of what you want, and choose it every time. Choose it over and over, and while yes, you will lose other great things because of it, but at least they're happy… so in turn, you feel quite satisfied with the way things go.

"Plus, I wasn't exactly a music prodigy back then and I wasn't good enough, so I think it's better off this way." Beca chuckles leading Emma to finally smile.

"Do you miss it? Do you miss music?"

"I miss _DJ-ing,_ but music? Well, not exactly - because I never stopped making closeted mixes."

Emma's eyes glisten. "Oh! Can I hear your stuff? Please! Please, Mom, please!"

"Em, it's late. You've got school tomorrow. Your Mumsy's gonna kill me if I let you stay up any later."

"Mumsy's asleep. I'm sure a five-minute mix won't hurt. Please, Mom."

Beca sets up her laptop and retrieves her headphones from the shelf.

"What about Mumsy?" Emma inquires as Beca chooses a track. "How long will she be angry?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I've messed up so she has the right to ignore me."

"You didn't mess up, Mom. You were doing it for us, and I think that's nice."

Beca smiles and admittedly blushes a little. "I'll tell you one thing… Your Mumsy and I? We always find our way back to each other. We always did and we always will."

"Unless it ends in a divorce or something," Emma shoots without filter, and as soon as she realises the awkwardness, she cups a hand to her shocked expression.

"That came out so wrong, Mom. I'm a bad consoler."

Beca laughs. "That makes two of us, actually."

* * *

"Chips?" Jessica offered a lone Chloe Beale as she sat with her at the poolside.

Chloe pointed to the lollipop in her mouth and shook her head politely - relaying her appreciation.

"So I've noticed something," Jessica began. "These past few days, you've been always, I don't know, off?"

Tossing her candy into the bin beside her, Chloe sat up defensively. "The Bellas have been my sole focus these days. I can barely sleep at night worrying about our set and you're saying that I haven't been-,"

"WOAH! Tiger, chill." Jessica gently flashed a palm to her to drop the escalation. "That's not what I meant. I know how hard you've been working on our routine and I appreciate it a lot. I'm grateful for that. We all are. It's just that, I can sense that you're constantly bothered by something bigger than Worlds."

"There is nothing bigger than the Worlds," Chloe followed up. "I mean there are things bigger than Worlds. It's just that right now the biggest thing in my life is that competition, you know? The Upcoming Worlds: Chloe Beale's ultimate cause of worry and-,"

"Hey," Jessica softly intruded her babbling. "You need to breathe, okay? It's obviously not just the Worlds. You've got something else on your back. I just know it. You're always hanging out here alone, sitting catatonic until your ass reddens. I don't see you laughing with us every time Fat Amy tries to outrun Flo in a sprint race."

Chloe retreated back to a cold lean against her chair facing the pool. Crossing her arms, she sighed through tight lips and fixed stares.

"Look Chloe, I'm just a concerned Bella sister. You've never reached this point of dysfunction in the last three years when it comes to Beca d-,"

"Is that what you think this is about?"

"Well, I mean, yeah. You don't like Beca hanging out with-,"

"Here we go again, damn it."

Jessica nudged Chloe's legs aside so she could sit facing her directly. "Chloe, you need to tell her how you feel or else the doubt and the fear will eat you alive. It's hard, but yeah."

Chloe looked at her sternly before a mocking groan got out of her system. "I don't need you meddling too deep into my personal affairs. You don't know what it's like in my situation with Beca. I really don't see the point in hearing you out any further."

Without another word, Chloe left Jessica again in midair. Sighing, Jessica walked back to her room with furrowed brows and a sudden mood in her eyes that threatens anyone who comes near her.

* * *

Stacie grabbed her bowl of popcorn angrily then sprinted out of the room she shared with Chloe. She walked down the hall and barged into the unlocked door - revealing a startled Emily Junk.

"Can I crash here for a while?" Stacie remarked without the primary purpose of requesting a reply from Emily.

"Thanks, Legacy," she followed up before the younger Bella could fully react.

"What are you doing here?" Emily inquired.

"Well, you know… It's one of those nights again. I go to this room only when it's late because the chill at the pool area becomes unbearable after seven… Popcorn?" Stacie hopped into Emily's bed and extended the bowl in kind offering.

"I'm good, thanks," Emily replied as she politely shook her head. "One of those nights? What kind of nights are we talking ab-,"

"Legacy, let me ask you one thing: where is your roommate?"

"Well, she, uh, I don't know. She went out as soon as she changed into her evening tee. She's probably with Amy or something."

"No, she's not. She's in our room."

"Oh," Emily muttered - rewinding Beca's gloomy vibe when she got home today. "So she's with Chloe… Well, I'm pretty sure that happens a lot. I mean they're best friends, aren't they?"

Stacie sighed. "Fucking hell. You are too young and too innocent to be talking to me," she mumbled.

Placing the popcorn on the nearby table, Stacie grabbed Emily's wrist and tried to pull her out of bed. "Come on, Legacy. Let's see how the two _'best friends'_ are doing, yeah?" She invited with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Emily pulled her hand back shortly. "Wait!"

"You still wear _comfort-socks?!"_ Stacie exclaimed as she watched Legacy rush over to her wardrobe to put on a pair of gray cotton socks.

"Double time, Legacy!"

"Stacie, where are we going?" Emily coped with her increasing pace. "Please slow down. I'm not in the m-,"

"SHHHH!" She threw at her as they arrive before her own room. Stacie slowly leaned an ear against the door, so Emily did the same - later ending up gasping at what she heard.

 _Moaning._ Soft moaning. Harsh moaning. Moans of undeniable pleasure.

"WHAT IS G-,"

"SHHHHHHH!" She motioned to the younger Bella.

Emily breathed quietly to listen. What was going on at the other side? Chloe and Beca - what were they doing?!

"Ah! Damn it! Ohhhh…" Beca screamed from the inside forcing Emily's brows to rise.

"Chloe… Chloe, please no- don't… No, not there-,"

"Becs! Stop moving too much!" Chloe reprimanded. "Yes! I found it! Here it comes."

Beca groans low once more. "If this ends wildly, I'm never… AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Emily watched as Stacie smirked and shot her a mocking stare. "Legacy, you look like you swallowed a spoonful of shit - _literally,"_ Stacie whispered.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," she said under her breath. The last time she heard her mothers utter the same set of sounds and noise was a couple of years back, and she knew back then to run back to her corner and turn on loud pop music. Young Emma Beale repressed an earlier memory of curiously pushing the door open to find out about the nuisance, only to find her moms _'wrestling with no T-shirts underneath the linens.'_ It was no surprise that the sounds were so familiar to her.

"How long have they have been fucking?!" Emily shot at Stacie.

"Why, Legacy! It turns out you're not as naive as I thought you were!" Stacie derided with a grin.

"We're going in." Stacie positioned her hand on the knob.

"WHAT?! Are you insane?! Stacie!"

She grabbed Emily's arm and barged in - startling Beca and Chloe.

"Legacy! Hi!" Beca greeted and soon frowned at the sight of her roommate covering her eyes with her hands. "Are you okay, Em? Wh-, AHHH! CHLO!"

Emily gradually lowered down her hands and saw Chloe sitting behind Beca with her hands clutched onto her best friend's tight back muscles.

"Sorry. I couldn't get the tangle of stress on this side" Chloe replied.

"Doesn't mean you may break my neck!" Beca shot back - making Chloe giggle.

Emily glanced over to Stacie with an estranged look in her face.

"Chloe loves giving Beca backrubs and shit," Stacie said - glancing back at the younger Bella with eyes that were eager to ridicule.

"What's up, girls?" Chloe beamed at the tall Bellas.

"Nothing, I'm just here to grab a DVD. Legacy and I are watching _Transcendence_ tonight."

"Oh god. Can't we go for something else? I've seen that film like a million times, and... well... _Johnny Depp,_ may the gods bless his soul."

Stacie grabbed her laptop and the disk. "Very funny, Legacy. The home media was released just two months ago... and _Hottie Depp_ is still pretty much alive, sorry to disappoint you."

 _Well, damn it!_ Emily scolded herself mentally for slipping again. "Yeah. If he were already dead, Amber Heard wouldn't have gotten-,"

"Amber Heard? His wife?" Stacie inquired. "What happened to her?"

Emily swallowed remembering 2014 as her _'present'_ year. "He uh, he just looks somebody who could be misogynistic."

"Well that's just judgmental." Stacie laughed.

 _Just you wait,_ Emily thought.

They exited, leaving the room all back to Chloe and Beca.


	9. Their Origin Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative team behind the Pitch Perfect films.) Listen up! For all of you who have read this before up to the "Regrets N' Chill" chapter, I suggest that you move to the 10th or the 11th chapter (new ones) because I re-arranged and re-divided the previous content into different chapters for continuity purposes.
> 
> Leave reviews please. I'm begging you. They don't even have to be nice. They can be the meanest you can tell a writer and I'll accept it.

**9: Their Origin Story**

Chloe breathed thankfully to herself as Stacie and Emily left the room. She focused on Beca's left shoulder - giving it gentle manual pressure. "So are you going to tell me now what you have up your nose these past few days?"

Beca only groaned - apparently still enjoying Chloe's massage.

"I'll be out this Friday," Chloe followed up. "You have no choice but to lead the rehearsals. You're my co-captain, after all."

"What's on Friday?"

"Tom finally dotted a schedule on our date."

Beca used their positions to her advantage and mindlessly rolled her eyes while Chloe was busy rubbing circles on her shoulders from behind.

"He sent me a box of chocolates this morning," said Chloe.

Beca swore she could imagine Chloe's cheeks warming as she spoke - much to her dismay. "Bribe," she teased, instead.

"You know, I keep thinking about where Tom and I left off three years ago. I can't remember the details, but it was somewhere between the lines of _It's-not-you-It's-me_ kind of thing, I guess.

"Hey, did I mention he got more muscular this year?" Chloe giggled.

"Not interested in your _fuck-boy,_ Chlo," mocked Beca, soon earning herself a reprimanding slap on the arm from the redhead.

"What do you have against him?! He saved my life, Beca. I was hoping my _best-est_ friend would at least have the decency to give that respect to him!"

Beca shifted so that she faced Chloe's burning eyes. "Chlo, it's not th-,"

"Then tell me, Becs! Take me out of the dark here! I don't even know what's going on with you these days!"

"I'm sorry, Chlo. I'm just really, really stressed out lately. You know how I get when I'm behind my to-do lists."

Chloe rolled her eyes and went in to encircle the brunette in a hug. She understood Beca's _asshole-slash-jerk_ tendencies and she knew better to recognise the them as simply a false facade. "I miss you. We barely hang out."

Beca leaned deeper into the crook of Chloe's neck. "I just let you _karate-chop_ my back for an hour, and you're saying we don't hang out?" She joked.

"An hour of hanging out doesn't make up for days of your absence, you know?"

Beca closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of Chloe's locks tickling against her arms.

"We can't even go for our usual Friday Movie Night because Tom booked our date."

"And that's my fault?" Beca pulled out of the hug.

"No, it's not," Chloe replied softly with a shy smile. "I'm just saying… It's been a while, Becs.

"Will you stay over tonight?"

Beca almost instantly agreed, but thought of having to endure more hours of hearing Chloe babble about Tom The Fuck-boy, and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle the hurt. "I can't, Chlo."

"Is this about Legacy? We can ask Stacie to stay with her in your room for tonight so she won't be alone."

"It's not that. I actually have t-," Beca halted upon seeing the disappointment in Chloe's eyes. _Oh no, not those pleading eyes._

Sighing, she maneuvered her thoughts around. "If I agree to sleep over, will you promise not to mention The Fuck-boy's name at all cost?"

Chloe nodded - a small smile curving out from the corner of her lips as her cheeks blushed when Beca cuddled into her.

* * *

The next morning, Emily walked to the Treble home half-awake to meet Benji. She sneaked in with her eyes barely opening and with deep yawning every two minutes. Benji's disheveled hair greeted her at the back door. Before they could start conversing in his room, Emily fell in bed and started snoring. He shook his head as he smiled and decided to make her breakfast while she took the time to catch up with rest.

After two hours, Emily woke to the scent of her favorite hotcakes and ate like she just got off a ritual of fasting.

"Please tell me you have something for me," said Emily before drinking from her glass of orange juice.

"What? The breakfast wasn't enough?"

"I mean about the bracelet, silly!"

Benji giggled. "I do have something… but you have to update me first about what's going on in Casa Bella… what's going on with your parents."

"Na-uh! I'm not doing this! You haven't called or returned any of my messages in days. I reserve the right to have this whole conversation my way. Tell me what you found, THEN, I'll update you about my status."

His shoulders slumped with her headstrong tactics. Sitting at the edge of his bed, he took a deep breath and started talking.

"I found this book about BC science fiction in our library yesterday. It consisted of a lot of stories and legends and claims about how the people before the _Anno Domini_ years dealt with scientific phenomena… one of which, is the Azurite bracelet created by the _Sahfiirs_ sometime before 1600 BC."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "You just mentioned like, three annoyingly weird terms. Can you please be a better storyteller?"

Benji shot her a confused expression. "I am a good storyteller. Listen well so you won't get lost.

"There was once a huge, multi-cultural tribe situated in the deep woods of South America which was established, governed, and owned by a clan of elitists called The Sahfiirs. They are a bunch of insanely intuitive and analytical elderlies who have lived past three hundred years before _The Great Troiandal Overturn._

"At one point in the tribe's history, the clans began to plot and execute uprisings to kick the Sahfiirs out of position and let the other clans take opportunities for governance. There were murders and mass violence all over the place. At first, the Sahfiirs managed to control the damage and stop those who are guilty and involved before they could cause more chaos but it didn't take long before the clans started mapping criminal agendas intellectually - both against the elitists and against each other. Frustrated that the masterminds never fell under the correct sanctions, the Sahfiirs took on a few months crafting a device that would let them identify the guilty parties correctly - something that would let them see the act from its planning phase to its execution."

Emily found a bag of crisps on his desk and cheerfully went for it. "Are you saying that they pioneered the idea of CCTV cameras?!"

"The bracelets, Em. They were the ones who designed the time-travel bracelets."

"Bracelets? So there's more than one of this little devil?" She raised her wrist a little too snappy that the crisps fell out of her grip.

"If you get crumbs all over the carpet, I will make you pay!"

Emily chuckled.

"And yes, they made a couple of bracelets.

"These bracelets, they were intended to transport a Sahfiir back in time to witness a crime in the shadows and know exactly who to go after. It was a tool for regaining peace and order among the clans. Originally, there were 22 of them - each holding record of a certain number of time. Yours, for example, carries thirty years.

"It was an instant success for the tribe. The violence decreased markedly because the right people were put into trial and received the appropriate sanctions.

"The Sahfiirs kept the bracelets a secret. They were able to get away with it by formulating biased prosecutions during trial to lock a good amount of evidence against the guilty. It wasn't until a _Sahfiir-Troiand_ prosecutor named _Incusid_ harboured greed that The Great Overturn slowly took place."

 _"SEY'-feer_ what now?" Emily mumbled with her mouth half-full.

 _"SEY'-feer troy-AAND',_ Em," he continued. "Incusid's mother was from the _Troiand_ clan, while his dad was a Sahfiir. Incusid was ever since known as a Sahfiir; he kept his Troiand ancestry a secret. Think of him as a double agent, Em. He kept his underground ties with the Troiands for years.

"When he saw what the bracelets could do, the ideas just flowed smoothly into his head. At first, he wanted to go back in time and meet his late mom but he wasn't exactly sure how to do it precisely at the time. Next, he saw the bracelets as a way to smuggle and collect wealth for himself and for the Troiands. He became a dangerous man with these notions and it wasn't until a trial let a guilty Troiand walk free, that the other Sahfiirs started suspected something was wrong.

 _"Caldis,_ the Sahfiir superior, made the strong proposal to destroy the bracelets for good after realising the grave danger it could bring following a possible misuse. No one backed her up; they argued that it was the only thing that could keep the Sahfiirs' power over the tribe. The discussion went on for days and while they were busy negotiating with each other, Incusid prompted the Troiands to raid the Sahfiir quarters and murder the clan to extinction.

"On the night the violence started, Caldis immediately went for the bracelets to keep them from falling into the hands of the Troiands. She managed to escape her burning village and hide at the borders. When Incusid and his men had caught up with her, Caldis had started the ritual of destroying the bracelets and she succeeded just before a spear flew right into her.

"That article that I read ended with the author's speculation on why Incusid decided to spare not one Sahfiir life during The Troiandal Overturn. It might be because he got entirely angry when he saw the remnants of only twenty non-working bracelets… which means, someone else managed to steal the two missing ones before Caldis had swept them away for destruction and poor Incusid spent the rest of his life chasing after a lost cause."

Emily walked over and sat with him. "That's one hell of a story. How come history classes never mentioned it?"

"It's believed as a myth, Em, but you and I both know it isn't one. I'm not sure who else in this wide world knows about the reality of these bracelets."

"What about the author of that book."

"He's dead."

"Yikes."

"Yup, and I don't think it'll be easy for us to find more resources about the Sahfiirs and the Troiands because only a tiny circle of historians and archaeologists believe in it. The rest of the world doesn't. I mean, come on, not one historical account would support that the famous City of Troy was a descendant derivative of the Troiand clan. The Troiands worshiped Incusid after The Overturn but his obsession with the two bracelets made him look like a mad man… and nobody wants to belong with a mad man. That was probably a factor that threw the entire clan into oblivion."

"Makes sense."

"Yeah." Benji snapped. "Okay, I'm done. Your turn. How's it going with your moms?"

Emily frowned as she told him of no progress at all. Her confidence lowered as she revealed experiencing immense difficulty of manipulating Beca and Chloe.

The Treble cheered her up with kind words and lectured her about how overt manipulation of people leads to bigger disasters. He explained that she was doing well keeping it subtle and look natural - because it was the way it should be.

"Wait, how did Caldis destroy the bracelets again?"

Benji rubbed a hand on his forehead. "Uh… it wasn't specified. The author only mentioned that it was a ritual thing and that's what we know for now."

Emily gasped. "Well then why did you tell me that lengthy story if it didn't have what we were desperate to find out?!"

Taken aback by her sudden change in tone, Benji chuckled nervously. "Because it's about that bracelet? Now we know where it came from and-,"

"I don't really care about how it originated. I care about reversing the travel and-or getting back to my original time." She banged a fist to the wall in frustration.

Benji sighed. "Sometimes, to understand something, you must first learn how it came to be," he said with a cold voice. He sure wasn't cheeky about the turn of the conversation. "To understand people - what they are, why they behave the way they do, how they think, how they make choices… you have to go back and explore where they came from because everything that they are now, was a product of their nature, of their origin."

"And I think it's the reason why you keep failing in your mission, Em. You treat Beca and Chloe according to the type of person that they are as your parents. It doesn't work that way. Their thoughts and beliefs today was because of their yesterday; their thoughts and beliefs tomorrow, will be because of today. You have to get a good grasp of how they think at this time if you want to influence their minds and change their future. You're not in 2044 anymore. It's 2014, and this is their origin story."

He left the room quietly leaving a stunned Emily Junk who was unsure of how to wrap her head around the matter.


	10. Pepperoni

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. (I don't own most of the characters and certain parts of the plot. Courtesy goes to the creative team behind the Pitch Perfect films.) Comments, please. Comments.

**10: Pepperoni**

Nothing thrilling happened over the week after that incident where Emily thought the back-rub session was a kinky quickie. She wasn't proud of herself for assuming such, and she swore she was never the same. Benji hadn't called in days… again. Whether it was the slight offense he took from Emily's reaction to the story of the bracelets, or it was the usual cramped college calendar of the Treble, Emily couldn't tell.

Beca became increasingly inattentive and way less mindful of her surroundings each night as she worked on her music. Yesterday night, when she came back from the communal showers, Beca disrobed leaving nothing on but her undergarments before lazily throwing herself to her bed and continuing her work. Roommates… sure. It could be a roommate thing so long as the other expressed full comfort in the habit, but Beca Mitchell wasn't just a roommate to Emily, therefore, crowning the whole experience as the epitome of awkwardness.

After dinner today, Emily rushed back to her room to avoid more conversations at the dining table. Almost all the girls came in time for the meal and they all ate in a joyous feast. Things with her mission had been going sluggish and while Emily formulated a plan to execute things faster, she must try her best to avoid the ripple rocks (whatever they may be).

The dull evening reached its end when Amy lunged into her room with adrenaline in her eyes. "Legacy!" She greeted loudly as she panted. "Grab your deadliest pillow and hurry downstairs! There's a war stirring up!"

Before Emily could clarify, the senior Bella slammed the door shut and yelled wildly along the corridor. Thinking it might be a '2014 thing' that has yet to turn obsolete in a few years, Emily complied.

"Legacy!" Amy shouted from outside.

Emily felt pity for the lone pillow that she owned because it had lost its fluffiness so she impulsively grabbed one of Beca's giant pillows and scurried to the living room where the noise seemed to originate from.

"What's this? What's going on?" Emily inquired upon seeing the girls divided into the two corners of the area.

"Oh! Yes, this will be your first, Legacy! It's time for The Mid-term Pillow War," Chloe began. "It's like your average pillow fighting but not so average, because it's Dixie-Chicks-serious about certain rules. We do this every semester."

Jaw-dropped, Emily clutch her pillow excitingly. "Well, how do we play?"

"You mean 'how do we fight,' 'cause the casualties here are real, sugar," Cynthia Rose remarked playfully at the younger Bella.

"It's simple: Don't fall off your feet. Don't get disarmed. Do either of 'em and you're automatically a captive of the opposing team. The army with the most number of 'slaves' at the end of the time frame wins the fight."

Emily squealed as she tried to rein the adrenaline. "Okay but which team am I in?"

"You're with us," said Amy as she emerged from behind the girls. She extended a shaking hand to Emily. "Fat Patricia, Acting-captain of Team Beca."

Emily playfully accepted the handshake. "Glad to be serving Team Becs!"

Everyone roared in war spirits as they chanted their team's yell. When Chloe hushed the giddy warriors, they assembled facing each other. "As captain of the defending champions, I, Chloe Beale, declare war on the rival team!" With one click on the tiny device in her hand, the lights all over Casa Bella went out and clock ticking resounded.

Emily's eyes reacted badly to the sudden transition to pitch black. People bumped into her and she could hear active footsteps all over the place. "I can't see! I can't see! Oh my stars! I c-,"

"Shhhhhhhh! Legacy, you're gonna get us killed!"

A hand took Emily's wrist and dragged her. "Flo? Is that you?"

"SHHHHH! I've been in this kind of situation a lot of times during my childhood and guess what! The noisy bitches always die first so shut your mouth," Flo reprimanded in an almost-whisper.

Emily and Flo hid beside the staircase.

"Don't get anywhere near The Ninja. You wouldn't stand a chance," whispered Flo.

"Ninja?"

"Lilly. She's the star warrior of Team Chlo. You'll barely see her coming. Next thing you know, BAM! A pillow hit you hard enough to tip you off your balance. She's a natural assassin."

The ticking sound stopped and for a second, the whole mansion stood in utter silence. Finally, a few of the little bulbs inside the house lit up - shedding the perimeter with meager illumination that made only a minute difference from pitch black. Plus, the blinking flashes of lights made it a perfect recipe for an epilepsy trigger.

Emily saw no one else in plain sight and wondered where everyone is.

With the return of some light, also came the war cries of all the Bellas. They emerged from their hiding places and began hitting each other with their weapon of choice. Before Flo and Emily could attack, they got ambushed by Ashley and Jessica. Emily managed to hit with force causing Jessica to take a step back regaining her balance. Realising that Flo's little frame made her an easier target, both Ashley and Jessica centered their efforts on their co-senior.

"No! You go!" Flo yelled when Emily tried to help her. "Avenge this team! I'll hold them off! Run, Legacy!"

Emily sneaked around the battlefield on her own. At one point into the the war, Emily watched as Chloe's warriors dragged her teammates Cynthia Rose and Flo to their base camp near the kitchen. It turned out, only the Acting-captain and herself remained active and free. As the freshman watched from the shadows, Chloe emerged from the staircase and took a jumping attack on Amy, but the latter's sturdier build dodged it off perfectly. Emily ran into the open to fight alongside the head of their team.

"Hey!

"Girls!

"BELLAS!

"Hey! What's going on?!" Beca, in her red blazer and black pants, yelled as she walked deeper into the house. The war paused in response to Beca's entrance.

"The Mid-term Pillow War? Does that ring a bell to you?" Chloe mocked.

Beca sighed. "Right… The pillow fight. How's that going for you, guys?"

"Your warriors are fighting without their captain. What do you think is the prognosis?"

Tired from the internship, Beca grunted low in defeat. "I'm exhausted. Can I just pass?"

"Sure," said Chloe nonchalantly before smashing her pillow to Emily causing the taller girl to stumble and fall. "Oh, man. Team Chloe's got Legacy captive," she mocked over at Beca before making a fake shocked expression in full sarcasm.

Beca stood stiff from where she was as she threw a sharp glare at Chloe. In quick snappy succession, Beca dropped her bag, grabbed the pillow at the counter to her left and tossed it to Emily.

She caught it in time but before the younger Bella could question it, Amy grabbed her and they ran around.

"A captive is set free when her teammate hands her a new weapon. Captain Beca's back!" Amy explained as the pillow war resumed.

Beca came in running towards Emily to drag her around the battlefield. "We're going to avenge the time you spent in captivity!" said Beca.

They managed to isolate Chloe into a corner. Beca and Emily relentlessly swung their pillows in a giddy attempt to push the rival's captain out of the game and finish the war once and for all.

They succeeded, and in the team's victorious rush, Beca threw herself into a nice friendly hug with Emily and this made Chloe very, very… irritated.

Beca ordered pizza and drinks for the Bellas' late snack. The house was in literal ruins after the pillow fight but no one dared to align a single ornament back in place. Everyone was exhausted and thrilled at the same time. Stacie put on electronic dance music on fair volume while the girls goofed around at the pool area.

Beca approached Chloe who was sitting at the kitchen by herself. "Hey, what are you doing here? Everyone by the pool is laughing at Amy's impression of The Terminator."

Chloe swallowed the last pizza bite she took and shook her head without even glancing at the brunette.

"You're not mad about the pillow fight, are you? It was just a silly game. You were the one who came up with it a year ago.

"Chlo?

The redhead finally shifted to face her. "I'm just tired, that's all."

"You're not. Something's up. I know it."

Maybe if you weren't too caught up with Legacy, I wouldn't be this upset… "Well you know - Worlds," Chloe lied, "as usual. Nothing new."

Beca slid a paper plate to her direction. Chloe rolled her eyes upon seeing the pepperoni slices lying lazily on top of each other.

"Don't worry. I didn't spit them out like the last time," said Beca - grinning.

"Becs, you gotta stop picking the pepperoni out of the pizza. I'm not always gonna be here to take 'em," said Chloe as she started chewing on one. Her lips curved into a sided smirk accompanied with a short blush as she savoured the meat. "Pepperoni is the best thing about pizza. How can you not like it?"

I'm okay with it, actually. I just want to watch you smile and blush like that… "I don't like the way it feels inside my mouth, that's all," pretended Beca.

Chloe ate three slices all at once and Beca watched - definitely admiring the redhead's little tokens of happiness. "Where were you today after your Research Management class?" She mumbled while she chewed. "I waited for you outside your classroom but you but your classmate said you left before the class ended."

"I was running late for a date," Beca goofed - a playful smirk pulling out of her face.

"With who?" Chloe said low with a tensed jaw.

"With Dee Feefchio. She asked me out last week and I said yes."

"You mean Blondie Gertrude?! Why would you go out with her?! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN TALK TO HER?! She's been my nemesis since high school! She's evil!"

Beca started laughing out of control that a few bead of tears escaped her eyes and ran down her reddening cheeks. "I was just playing with you, Chlo. I wasn't on a date, and if I were, it certainly wouldn't be with Dee."

Chloe slapped her arm. Then she punched it. Then another - a more solid jab. "You're gonna pay for this, Mitchell! The last thing I needed was my best friend telling me she's trying to hook up with Blondie Gertrude!"

"Chlo, you gotta stop calling Dee - Blondie Gertrude," she voiced out before she giggled. "No, you know what? Keep the nickname. It's hilarious."

Chloe tried to rein an explosive amount of laughter but failed. It came out of her lungs like a squirrel asphyxiating to death and it made her and Beca laugh even more.

"By the way, Chlo, I found this on our porch." Beca revealed a stationary envelope from her purse and handed it to her.

"It's some sort of an invitational performance for next week, I guess. Only an address and a password in there. This should be interesting," said Beca. "So, what do you think?"

Chloe grinned. "I think the Bellas could use some side exposure before the Worlds."

Beca heaved a sigh of relief. Perfectly dodged it, Mitchell, she complimented herself mentally. She decided not to tell her about the internship that she had been hiding. It wasn't the right place and it definitely wasn't the appropriate time to do so.


End file.
